Rio Tinto granted approval for Yandicoogina iron ore project expansion

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.