The government of Western
Australia has approved Australian
mining giant
Rio Tinto's $1.8 billion expansion plans for its Yandicoogina
iron ore project in the east Pilbara region, according to media reports.
In June this year,
Rio Tinto announced a $4.2 billion investment plan to develop its
iron ore business, including $3.7 billion for expansion of its Pilbara
iron ore operations in Western
Australia and $501 million for further infrastructure development at the Simandou
iron ore project in Guinea.
Rio Tinto aims to expand the Yandicoogina
iron ore project's capacity to 56 million mt per year from 52 million mt per year, extending the life of mine to 2021.