A surge in iron-ore prices has seen Australia’s three largest producers reinvest in their assets in the country, assisting in maintaining the country’s number one ranking in iron-ore exports.

Australia exported 835-million tonnes of iron-ore in 2018, generating A$64-billion in revenues and accounting for 53% of global iron-ore exports during that year.

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has predicted that Australia’s iron-ore export earnings will increase to an estimated A$75-billion in 2018/19, owing to supply disruptions in other parts of the world, primarily in Brazil, and the continued high demand from China.

Iron-ore exports from Australia are forecast to rise from the 806-million tonnes expected in 2018/19 to 869-million tonnes in 2020/21, driven by large-scale producers ramping up to long-term production targets.

In June last year, mining giant BHP approved a $2.9-billion investment into the development of the South Flank project, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, to fully replace production from its 80-million-tonne-a-year Yandi operation, which is approaching the end of its economic life.

The South Flank project expands the existing infrastructure at Mining Area C, and involves the construction of an 80-million-tonne-a-year crushing and screening plant, an overland conveyor system and stockyard and train loading facilities, as well as the procurement of new mining fleet and substantial mine development and prestrip work.

First ore from South Flank is targeted for 2021, with the project expected to produce ore for more than 25 years.

“South Flank is a capital-efficient project that offers attractive returns and was approved following a thorough evaluation under BHP’s Capital Allocation Framework,” BHP president of operations for Minerals Australia Mike Henry said at the time.

The project is expected to increase the average iron-ore content of the ore BHP mines in the Pilbara from 61% to 62%, and the overall proportion of lump from 25% to about 35%.

Meanwhile, in July, the Western Australian government approved the major’s long-term plans for its Pilbara iron-ore operations.

BHP’s Pilbara Expansion Strategic Proposal details a cumulative picture of the miner’s planned and potential operations across the Pilbara, including mining operations, rail, storage areas, dams and associated mine infrastructure, for the next 50 to 100 years.

The strategic proposal outlines the potential for up to 11 more iron-ore projects in the Pilbara over the next 50 to 100 years.

BHP’s Australian iron-ore asset president, Edgar Basto, said that the framework would enable BHP and state regulators to focus on effectively planning and managing environmental impacts at regional level in the longer term for the benefit of future generations.

Meanwhile, major Rio Tinto will also be spending big in the Pilbara, having announced a $1.55-billion investment with its joint venture (JV) partners Mitsui and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal to sustain production capacity at two projects that form part of the Robe River JV.

The JV partners will develop the Mesa B, C and H deposits at Robe Valley and the deposits C and D at the existing West Angelas operation, enabling Rio to sustain production of its Pilbara Blend and Robe Valley lump and fines products.

First ore was expected from 2021, Rio said.

In October last year, Rio also commissioned a new mine at Hope Downs, in the Pilbara, joint-venturing with fellow iron-ore major Hancock Prospecting, which owns the Roy Hill mine.

The Baby Hope mine was the fourth mine developed by the JV and will assist in sustaining the existing capacity at the Hope Downs 1 operation, which, along with Hope Downs 4, produced 46.9-million tonnes of iron-ore in 2017.

A month later, Rio also approved a $2.6-billion investment into the Koodaideri mine, which will be Rio’s first intelligent mine, incorporating the latest high-tech advances in the industry and an increasing level of automation and robotics.

It is a large-scale, low-cost, high-quality project that will produce replacement tonnes and forms a new production hub for Rio in the Pilbara. The project is expected to increase the higher-value lump component of Rio’s Pilbara Blend, subject to market conditions, from the current average of 35% to 38%.

Koodaideri lode production will total about 43-million tonnes a year by 2021, but this could be increased to about 70-million tonnes or more at a later date.

“Koodaideri is a game changer for Rio Tinto. It will be the most technologically advanced mine we have ever built and sets a new benchmark for the industry in terms of the adoption of automation and the use of data to enhance safety and productivity,” Rio CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques told shareholders.

“As we pursue our value-over-volume approach, targeted high-quality investments such as Koodaideri will ensure we continue to deliver value for our shareholders and Australians.

“This further investment in our iron-ore business is also a multibillion- dollar vote of confidence in Western Australia,” he added.

Construction is scheduled to begin before year-end, and first production is expected in 2021.

Meanwhile, fellow iron-ore major Fortescue Metals has approved its own slew of iron-ore projects to boost production.

In July, the ASX-listed miner officially turned the first sod at the $1.27-billion Eliwana mine-and-rail project, which is being developed in the Pilbara. The project includes the construction of a 143-km-long rail line, a new 30-million-tonne-a-year dry processing facility and infrastructure.

The Eliwana operation will underpin the sustainable production of Fortescue’s West Pilbara Fines product and provide the miner with the flexibility to deliver product with an iron-ore content greater than 60%.

“Eliwana is core to the next phase of development in Fortescue’s world-class, innovative operations. The project will see us maintain our low-cost status, provide us with greater flexibility to deliver on our integrated operations and marketing strategy and, when combined with the Iron Bridge magnetite development, will increase Fortescue’s average product grade and provide the ability to deliver [most] of our products at greater than 60% iron, consistent with our long-term goal,” said Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines.

First ore on train at Eliwana is expected in December 2020.

Meanwhile, the $2.6-billion Iron Bridge magnetite project was also approved in April and is expected to produce 22-million tonnes of 67%-iron- content ore each year, as well as low-impurity concentrate suitable for pellet feed or blending with sinter fines.

Fortescue and its JV partner, Fermosa Steel IB, have already secured five binding offtake agreements for 5.3-million tonnes a year.

“The Iron Bridge project holds Australia’s largest Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant magnetite resource, supporting a long mine life,” said Gaines.

First ore was expected in the first half of 2022, and ramp-up to full production was expected to take some 12 months, she added.

In addition to Eliwana and Iron Bridge, Fortescue will spend $287-million on its Queens Valley mining area, at the Solomon Hub, between 2019 and 2022.

The development of the Queens Valley mining area will maintain production of the low-alumina Kings Fines product, which is supplied to customers in China, Japan and Korea.

The project will include the construction of an innovative hydraulic barrier wall and the relocation of the Solomon maintenance facilities closer to the Queens Valley operation to shorten travel distances, lower operating costs and provide access to additional tonnes in the vicinity of the Kings ore processing facility.