Rio Tinto green lights $110m spending on pre-feasibility study at Rhodes Ridge
Rio Tinto has given the green light to a $110 million pre-feasibility study to advance its massive Rhodes Ridge iron ore project in the east Pilbara.
Rhodes Ridge — a 50:50 joint venture with Wright Prospecting — contains 6.8 billion tonnes at an average grade of 61.6 per cent iron, including 5.3 billion tonnes at 62.2 per cent and 600 million tonnes at 63.9 per cent.
Rio is looking to a staged development of the project with an initial hub likely to be located in the northern part of the project, adjacent to existing rail infrastructure.
The PFS is expected to be completed by the end of next year and will be followed by a feasibility study, with first ore from the initial development due by the end of this decade.
The expenditure is on top of $400m Rio says it expects to spend on exploration at the project 40km north-west of Newman between 2024 and 2028.
Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott said the size and quality of the resource base at Rhodes Ridge had the potential to underpin the miner’s powerhouse Pilbara operations for decades to come.
“Longer term, the resource could support a world-class mining hub with a potential capacity of more than 100 million tonnes of high-quality iron ore a year,” Mr Trott said.
“We are committed to working closely with the Traditional Owners, the Nyiyaparli and Ngarlawangga People, as we progress this project.”
