On May 9, the Australian
iron ore miner
Atlas Iron Limited said that it has signed an agreement to expand capacity at its Wodgina
iron ore mine in Western
Australia's iron-ore rich Pilbara region by 75 percent to seven million mt per year. The company aims to reach an
iron ore production capacity of 12 million mt by December 2012.
Accordingly,
Atlas has entered into a six-year infrastructure agreement with Global Advanced Metals (GAM), which owns infrastructure at the Wodgina tantalum mine site, giving
Atlas access to a range of infrastructure including the crushing and screening plant.
Atlas said in its statement that it will pay AU$35 million towards the building of alternate screening and crushing capacity on the site by the end of the first quarter of 2012 for GAM's exclusive use.