Rio Tinto opens a new iron ore mine in Australia
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has recently announced that its subsidiary Hamersley Iron opened a new iron ore mine called Eastern Range near Paraburdoo in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Hamersley Iron holds 54% stake in the new mine, which will enable the unit to become the leading supplier of iron ore to China. The other 46% share of the mine belongs to Chinese mill Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation. The initial investment for the mine is $64 million. According to the joint venture agreement, Hamersley will supply 10 million tons of iron ore to Baosteel annually, totaling 200 million tons over 20 years. With the agreement, Baosteel will have a stable source of high grade iron ore in return Hamersley will have guaranteed iron ore sales over 20 years.