PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant Rio Tinto has moved forward with its plans to expand its Pilbara iron-ore operations to 360-million tons a year, by 2015, by installing a new 55-million-ton-a-year shiploader at Cape Lambert.

Rio Tinto Pilbara Projects COO Michael Gollschewski said the shiploader was a major component of infrastructure in the expansion programme and it was exciting to see it secured in place.

“The last time we received a new shiploader was in 2007, also at Cape Lambert, on the existing wharf as part of the capacity expansion to 220-million tons a year. This is a powerful visible reminder that we are progressing rapidly towards reaching our interim target of achieving 290-million ton annual capacity for the Pilbara operations,” he said.

The shiploader joined two new stackers, two reclaimers and a new car dumper in the newly constructed stockyard for the Cape Lambert expansion, which meant that Rio’s major coastal infrastructure for the 290-million-ton-a-year project was now on site and in place, ensuring a major element of risk had now been resolved, Gollschewski said.

The new Cape Lambert wharf was being constructed in two stages with the first stage to be completed in the third quarter of 2013, consisting of a two-sided berth that will provide facilities and loading for two very large ore carriers with the capacity to deliver up to 250 000 t of iron-ore to each.

Work on the second stage (Phase B), will add a 400 m wharf extension with another two berths. This second stage is already well advanced, with all dredging requirements and majority of piling now completed. Once all works have been completed the Cape Lambert port would have the largest export capacity of the three iron-ore port assets owned by Rio.

All approvals for the expansion to 290-million ton a year capacity were in place, and all key rail and port approvals for the 360-million-ton-a-year stage were completed.