Rio’s Pilbara operations rake in the money

(Posted on 21/06/18)

In a presentation to investors and analysts in Perth, Rio Tinto showcased its Pilbara operations, a world-class, leading-edge, fully integrated system.

The presenters discussed how Rio Tinto’s iron ore business will continue to deliver superior value by developing greater flexibility across its system of mines, rail and ports in Western Australia, capable of dynamically responding to changes in market and customer demand.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury said: “Our strategy is to optimise our Pilbara assets to deliver value for our shareholders. Our iron ore business delivered $7.3bn of free cash flow in 2017 and we will continue to maximise free cash flow by pursuing a value-over-volume approach, built on a portfolio of world-class assets that deliver our premium iron ore product, the Pilbara Blend.

“We are driving productivity improvements right across the business and we continue to leverage considerable value from innovation and new technology. Our pioneering autonomous rail project, AutoHaul, is on schedule to be implemented by the end of the year, and is already delivering benefits to the business through an uplift in rail capacity.

"Removing our bottleneck in rail and increasing flexibility remain a key priority. This work is progressing well and rail and mine capacity should be in line with nameplate port capacity by the end of 2019. As we have said before, we will continue to optimise the system to provide the flexibility to respond to market conditions. However, importantly, capacity is not the same as tonnes shipped. How we use the capacity of our integrated system will be dynamic, in line with a strict value-over-volume approach.

Mr Salisbury added the company continues to benefit from changes in the Chinese steel industry. “The steel industry in China has undergone a significant shift in recent times due to supply-side reforms and environmental policy improvements. We believe these reforms are structural and that our business is well positioned to take advantage of these changes due to robust demand for our high quality products, including the Pilbara Blend.”

Latest News

SSAB delivers decarbonised steel to Vattenfall’s solar park project in Germany

SSAB is supplying decarbonised steel to Vattenfall for the construction of the ground-mounted solar... Read more

NGFA statement on STB’s decision to conditionally accept rail merger application

In accordance with the Surface Transportation Board’s merger rules, the Board has conditionally... Read more

EU feed production market forecast highlights continued stability

FEFAC market experts are forecasting continued stability in the EU compound feed production market for... Read more

Fertilizer Action Plan: recognition must now translate into delivery

Fertilizers Europe has acknowledged the European Commission’s Fertilizer Action Plan, which recognises... Read more

Tripartite MOU to establish direct U.S.–DRC cobalt supply chain

Entreprise Générale du Cobalt, EVelution Energy LLC and Trafigura Pte Ltd. has announced... Read more

Commissioning of Oxelösund electric arc furnace delayed due to permitting

SSAB’s conversion of the mill in Oxelösund to fossil-free production is being delayed due... Read more

YEC agreement supports decarbonisation of Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore operations

Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC), one of Australia’s largest Indigenous-led renewable energy... Read more

ASA Vice President urges caution in USTR Section 301 investigation

Soybean farmers are already facing significant economic headwinds and new trade actions could add further... Read more

ADM investment to upgrade Clinton, Iowa, corn processing facility

ADM, a global leader in innovative solutions from nature, has announced a multimillion-dollar investment... Read more

JV in Bayuquan, China to strengthen global raw material supply chains

CREMER ERZKONTOR GmbH has announced the official opening of its joint venture, CREMER (Yingkou) Supply... Read more