iron ore fact sheet sept 2010

8/8/2019 Iron Ore Fact Sheet Sept 2010

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Fact sheet

Iron ore


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Our integrated iron ore operations includemines, rail and port infrastructure.

Our iron ore business

Rio Tinto is the second largestsupplier to the worlds iron ore trade.Iron is one o the most commonelements on Earth, comprising aboutve per cent o the Earths crust.Iron is the key ingredient in theproduction o steel, one o the mostimportant and durable products ormodern living.

We are the only iron ore producerwith a truly global production andgrowth platorm. Our integratedoperations including mines,rail and port inrastructure aredesigned to respond rapidly tochanges in demand or iron ore.

Rio Tintos key iron ore operationsare in Western Australia and NorthAmerica. From these locations, weare well positioned to take advantageo demand in developed countries,and meet growth in demand romdeveloping regions such as in Asia.

Rio Tinto is a leading internationalbusiness involved in each stageo metal and mineral production.The Group combines Rio Tinto plc,which is listed on the LondonStock Exchange, and Rio TintoLimited, which is listed on theAustralian Securities Exchange.

In December 2009, Rio Tinto signeda binding agreement with BHPBilliton to establish a production jointventure covering the entirety o bothcompanies Western Australian ironore assets in the Pilbara.

Through projects such as our Mine othe Future, were ocusing on ways toproduce more tonnes, more eciently,

in ways that minimise our impact onthe environment and improve the liveso the people who work or us and thelocal communities.

We are investing in projects in newregions or the Iron Ore group, notablyin Guinea, west Arica, and Orissa,India. Through these projects, newmines in the Pilbara and expansionsat our existing operations, we havethe scope to maintain and extendour leading role in the global ironore sector.

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Iron

Producing iron

We extract iron ore rom beneath the surace rock, crushit and sort it, then either transport it by ship to customers,or send it to smelters in which we extract iron metal romthe ore.

Most o the iron ore we sell is smelted by our customers inblast urnaces. The ore is ed into the urnace along withcoke, and very hot air is blasted in. The chemical reactionsthat take place orm a mixture o molten iron and slag.

The dense iron sinks to the bottom o the urnace andis tapped o. Once cooled, it is called pig iron. Thisis used to produce steel, or urther rened to producecommercially pure iron.

Our HIsmelt subsidiary (Rio Tinto: 60 per cent) hasdeveloped an alternative process that is lower cost, more

ecient and environmentally cleaner than the traditionalblast urnace. HIsmelt is short or high intensity smelting.It is the worlds rst commercial direct smelting process,meaning that it produces premium quality pig iron withno slag directly rom iron ore. The process allows iron orenes with signicant impurities to be used, and cheaper,non coking coal instead o coke.

Using iron

Iron is the most useul metal in the world. It is usedin a variety o orms, in a multitude o applicationsin everyday lie:

Cast ironPartly rened iron containing up to ve per cent carbon.Cast iron is very hard, but brittle, and is ideal or mouldedparts like car engine blocks.

Wrought ironNearly pure iron mixed with a glass-like material. Wroughtiron is soter than cast iron and does not rust. It is used inoutdoor urniture, railings and other decorations.

SteelThe most common orm o iron. It contains aroundone per cent carbon and has thousands o uses.

Stainless steelThis contains chromium, making it very rust resistant.Stainless steel is ideal or vehicle parts, hospitalequipment and cooking utensils.

Tool steelExtremely hard, heat treated steel that is usedin metalworking tools.

Iron is the most useul metal in the world.

It is used in a variety o orms, in a multitudeo applications in everyday lie.

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Our Pilbara operations comprise 13 mines,three shipping terminals at two ports anda rail network spanning almost 1,400km.

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The St Lawrence river, Quebec. IronOre Company of Canada exports ironore concentrate and pellets from itsports at Sept-Iles on the St Lawrence.Left

We operate 13 iron ore mines inthe Pilbara, with another mineunder construction.

Hamersley IronHamersley Iron operates ten iron oremines, three o which are held in joint

venture. Two o the joint venturesare with members o the Chinesesteel industry. The third mine HopeDowns a Rio Tinto joint venturewith Hancock Prospecting startedproduction in November 2007.Brockman 4, is expected to beoperational rom quarter two, 2010.Hamersley Iron has a dedicated heavyhaul railway that transports the ironore rom our inland mines to the portterminals at Dampier.

Robe River Iron AssociatesRio Tinto has a 53 per cent stakein Robe River, which is the worldsourth largest seaborne trader iniron ore. Rio Tinto gained its stake inRobe River through the acquisitiono North Limited in 2000. Robe Riverhas three open pit mines: Mesa A,Mesa J and West Angelas. Rio Tintohas plans to expand Robe Rivers portat Cape Lambert to accommodate anyincreased production that may comerom Pilbara expansion projects.

Iron Ore Company o CanadaIron Ore Company o Canada (IOC)has been Canadas leading supplier

o iron ore or more than 50 years.Rio Tinto acquired a 59 per centstake in IOC when it acquired NorthLimited. This gave us our rst ironore production in North America, andalso a new product iron ore pellets.

IOC mines iron ore rom its open pitmine in Labrador City, Newoundlandand Labrador. The companyprocesses the ore to produce ironore concentrate and pellets, railsthese products to its port at Sept-Iles,Quebec, then exports them to majorNorth American, European and Asiansteelmakers.

HIsmelt

Rio Tinto has a 60 per cent interestin the HIsmelt iron making plantin Kwinana, Western Australia.The plant is ramping up towardsplanned capacity o 800,000 tonnesper year. HIsmelt is a lower cost,more ecient, cleaner alternative toconventional iron making technology.It can oer iron and steelmakers

around the world signicantenvironmental benets compared tothe traditional blast urnace process.

Our keyoperations arein WesternAustralia andNorth America

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Robe River mines (53%)Mesa AMesa JWest Angelas

HIsmelt (60%)Iron Ore Company o Canada (59%)

Iron ore projectsOrissa (51%)Simandou (95%)

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We are evaluating newiron ore opportunitiesin Guinea and India.

Our iron ore projects

The Iron Ore groups growth strategy has involved acommitment o more than US$9 billion to expand theglobal production platorm or iron ore since 2003. Inaddition to urther planned expansions in WesternAustralia, we have an exciting portolio o new projects,in Arica and Asia.

Among the substantial synergies expected to come romthe proposed iron ore joint venture with BHP Billitonare opportunities to optimise uture growth throughthe development o consolidated, larger and morecapital-ecient expansion projects.

Pilbara projectsRio Tinto has previously prepared or an aggressiveexpansion programme in the Pilbara over the next decadeand remains well positioned to execute the next phasein its strategy. An array o projects designed to support

increased capacity up to 330 million tonnes per year isunder way or awaiting decision.

Cape Lambert was early identied as the preerred siteor any signicant expansion o Pilbara port acilities,with plans to construct a new terminal.

Iron ore operations and projects

Iron ore operationsHamersley Iron mines

Brockman 2Brockman 4Channar (60%)Eastern Range (54%)Hope Downs (50% joint venture)MarandooMt Tom PriceNammuldiParaburdooYandicoogina

In the Robe Valley, a new mine Mesa A/Warramboo has just commenced production and is expected toramp up to 25 million tonnes per year capacity rom 2011.Brockman 4 mine is expected to begin production rommid 2010, as is the Western Turner Syncline developmentnear Tom Price, and the proposed Hope Downs 4development is awaiting a nal investment decision.

SimandouA pre-easibility study has been undertaken or thedevelopment o the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.This greeneld discovery is in one o the best undevelopedmajor iron ore provinces in the world. Initial capacity o70 million tonnes per year was targeted, with estimateso potential uture capacity ranging as high as170 million tonnes a year.

OrissaRio Tinto has a joint venture with the state owned OrissaMining Corporation, which is seeking to develop iron ore

leases in Orissa, India, one o the key iron ore regions othe world. With expectations o signicant inrastructureand industrial development in India in the mediumand long term, Rio Tinto is keen to contribute to thedevelopment o the Indian iron ore sector.

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Locations on the map are indicative

Operations and projects are wholly ownedunless otherwise shown.

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2 Eastbourne Terrace

London W2 6LG

United Kingdom

T +44 (0)20 7781 2000

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120 Collins Street

Melbourne, Victoria 3000

Australia

T +61 (0)3 9283 3333

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Australia

T +61 (0)8 9327 2000

PORT WALCOTT

PARKER POINT

EAST INTERCOURSE ISLAND

PANNAWONICA

DAMPIER

MESA AMESA J

MONTE BELLO ISLANDS

KARRATHA

NAMMULDI

MT TOM PRICE

PARABURDOO

0 100

SCALE

MGA ZONE 50

CHANNAR

EASTERN RANGE

WEST ANGELAS

MARANDOOYANDICOOGINA

HOPE DOWNS

TOM PRICE

PARABURDOO

NEWMAN

BROCKMANBROCKMAN No. 4

WESTERN TURNER SYNCLINE

WICKHAM

ROEBOURNE

MILLSTREAM CHICHESTER

NATIONAL PARK

KARIJINI

NATIONAL PARK

KARIJINI

NATIONAL PARK

BARROW ISLAND

NORTH

GREATNORTHERNHWY

NORTH

WESTCO

ASTA

LHWY

IRON ORE MINE

PROPOSED MINE

PORT

PERTH

WESTERN

AUSTRALIA

TOWN

RAILWAY

iron ore fact sheet sept 2010

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