Rio Tinto, Hancock Prospecting to develop $1.61 billion Hope Downs 2 project
(Reuters) -Australia's Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting will invest $1.61 billion to develop the Hope Downs 2 iron ore project in Western Australia's Pilbara region, Rio Tinto said on Tuesday.
Hope Downs 2 project, containing the Hope Downs 2 and Bedded Hilltop deposits, is a joint venture between Rio and Hancock Prospecting with both parties holding equal stakes.
The two iron ore pits will have a combined total annual production capacity of 31 million metric tons, Rio said in a statement.
Ore mined from the two sites will be transported to Hope Downs 1 for processing and first iron ore from the project is scheduled for 2027, Rio said.
Rio Tinto expects to invest more than $13 billion on new mines, plant and equipment over the next three years, the company said.
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We are all part of one big society; standing back and letting something happen that shouldn't happen is not the right answer. So be the change agent: step forward. If you see opportunities to help your peers be better and opportunities to unlock additional efficiencies, share that. Start thinking about it more from a global sense rather than an individual or a corporate sense. We all wear the same jersey, so to speak. We are part of an industry that will be judged by society, so don't back away and say, well, that is not my problem. It is ultimately all of our problems. RS: So much so. It is not only frustrating, it is embarrassing. I have had this happen where I have been part of a panel, and one of the CEOs of a company is right beside me, and then that company has a huge failure that we think could have been managed. It is frustrating and embarrassing because the technology, science and engineering is there, we should be able to do this with minimal impact. At Wheaton we don't actually operate mines, but we selectively finance around 40-odd mines globally, which we visit at least once a year. One of the mandates we have is to look for and share best practices, so we can help our other partners move down that path. RS: Mining is an industry that has many members that tend to work in silos, on their own projects. There is not much cross pollination or cross communication. I really encourage CEOs to support technical teams. In the end, it is the engineers and the metallurgists and the social scientists that are going to help create an environment that is conducive towards exploring opportunity and having success. Share the successes. Share the challenges with your peers. Let's talk about how this happened, why this happened and what we can do to make sure it doesn't happen again. I always say the biggest challenge in life is to take your challenges and failures and to turn them into lessons and just be better the next time. We need to make sure we have platforms where we encourage that, are open to it, but also contributing and feeding into it. "'I've never seen such societal acceptance of mining' – Wheaton Precious Metals' Randy Smallwood" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
