JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian state government has approved the expansion of iron-ore major Rio Tinto’s Silvergrass mine, in the Pilbara, paving the way for construction to get under way.
The approval, which State Development Minister Bill Marmion said on Tuesday showed that Western Australia continued to be an attractive place for large-scale investment, follows a month after the Rio Tinto board gave its nod for the brownfield project.
"The expansion provides a significant boost to the Western Australian resources sector,” Marmion said, adding that the project would create 500 jobs during construction and an additional 25 operational positions once the expanded mine was fully operational.
The board approved $338-million to complete the proposed brownfield project, which is expected to add ten-million tonnes of capacity and to lower its iron-ore portfolio’s unit costs. The investment will see the replacement of road haulage with a primary crusher and more efficient 9 km conveyor system linking Silvergrass to the existing processing plant at the adjacent Nammuldi mine.
Engineering and infrastructure company RCR Tomlinson won the $120-million contract to deliver the primary crusher and overland conveyor system for the mine.
The Silvergrass proposal was approved under the existing state agreement between Rio Tinto and the Western Australian government.