Rio Tinto and China's Baowu open iron mine in Australia
SYDNEY -- Anglo-Australian resources giant Rio Tinto on Friday officially opened a joint-venture iron ore mine with China's Baowu Group in Pilbara, Australia's iron ore heartland.
The $2 billion project, Western Range, has the capacity to produce 25 million metric tons of the metal a year, or enough to sustain the area's Paraburdoo mining hub for up to 20 years.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Trump administration reviewing Biden-era submarine pact with Australia, UK
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and David Brunnstrom U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has launched a formal review of a defense pact worth hundreds of billions of dollars that former President Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom, allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. The formal Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defense as tensions grow over China's expansive military buildup. It could also throw a wrench in Britain's defense planning. AUKUS is at the center of a planned expansion of its submarine fleet. "We are reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," the official said of the review, which was first reported by Financial Times. "Any changes to the administration's approach for AUKUS will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate." AUKUS, formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles. Vocal skeptics of the AUKUS deal among Trump's senior policy officials include Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy advisor. In a 2024 talk with Britain's Policy Exchange think-tank, Colby cautioned that U.S. military submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that U.S. industry could not produce enough of them to meet American demand. They would also be central to U.S. military strategy in any confrontation with China centered in the First Island Chain, an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas. "CROWN JEWEL" "My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it," Colby said. The Australian and UK embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. National Security Council also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defense project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion ($240 billion) over three decades on the program, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. News of the U.S. review comes hours after the British government announced plans to invest billions of pounds to upgrade its submarine industrial base, including at BAE Systems in Barrow and Rolls-Royce Submarines in Derby, to allow the increase in submarine production rate announced in Britain's Strategic Defence Review. Britain said this month it would build up to 12 next-generation attack submarines of the model intended to be jointly developed by the UK, U.S. and Australia under AUKUS. Only six countries operate nuclear submarines: the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, France and India. AUKUS would add Australia to that club starting in 2032 with the U.S. sale of Virginia-class submarines. Before that, the U.S. and Britain would start forward rotations of their submarines in 2027 out of an Australian naval base in Western Australia. Later, Britain and Australia would design and build a new class of submarines, with U.S. assistance, with the first delivery to the UK in the late 2030s and to Australia in the early 2040s. Although Australia has declined to say ahead of time whether it would send the submarines to join U.S. forces in any conflict between the U.S. and China, Colby noted Australia's historic alliance with Washington, including sending troops to Vietnam. "I think we can make a decent bet that Australia would be there with us in the event of a conflict," Colby said last year. Speaking in Congress on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "we're having honest conversations with our allies." On Australia, Hegseth said: "We want to make sure those capabilities are part of how they use them with their submarines, but also how they integrate with us as allies." Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who signed a previous agreement to acquire French submarines that was shelved in favor of AUKUS, told CNBC last week it was "more likely than not that Australia will not end up with any submarines at all, but instead, simply provide a large base in Western Australia for the American Navy and maintenance facilities there." © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Nikkei Asia
Qantas to shut Singapore-based Jetstar Asia on rising costs
SYDNEY -- Qantas will shut down its Singapore-based subsidiary, Jetstar Asia, impacting 16 routes within Asia, the Australian airline announced Wednesday, blaming high supplier costs, airport fees and tougher competition for the budget carrier's "growing challenges" in recent years. In a news release, Qantas Group described the shutdown as part of a "strategic restructure" that supports its fleet renewal program, with 13 Jetstar Asia Airbus A320 to be deployed to its "stronger performing" core markets of Australia and New Zealand.
Kyodo News
4 days ago
- Kyodo News
Japan showcases MSDF frigate in Australia amid bid to win contract
KYODO NEWS - Jun 6, 2025 - 22:42 | World, All Japan's latest Maritime Self-Defense Force frigate made a port call in Darwin, northern Australia, on Thursday for training, as Japan competes with Germany for a contract to build Australia's new-generation fleet. Showcasing the Mogami-class multi-mission frigate Yahagi to the media on Friday, MSDF officials highlighted its advanced stealth features and ability to operate with a smaller crew than the German vessels. The MSDF hosted an evening reception for Royal Australian Navy officials on board the ship the same day. In November last year, the Australian government shortlisted the Mogami-class frigate and Germany's MEKO A200 frigate as candidates to replace its navy's Anzac-class frigates in a program worth up to AU$10 billion ($6.5 billion) over the next decade. From an operational standpoint, there is a degree of support in Australia for Germany's proposed frigates, which offer compatibility with its current fleet. Meanwhile, Japan is aiming to ease concerns by allowing officials to experience the user-friendliness of its frigate. "With a smaller crew, it is easier to keep track of personnel. I believe this is the optimal size," Yahagi's captain, Masayoshi Tamura, said. Frigates produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. can be operated by a crew of around 90, half as many as similar vessels. The Australian government is planning the largest expansion of its navy's combatant fleet since World War II amid China's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. It is expected to choose either Japan or Germany as its partner for the joint development of new frigates by the end of the year.
