Roy Hill has been recognised as the Project of the Year at the 2016 Project Management Institute Australia awards.
Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting project director Sanjiv Manchanda accepted the award earlier this week.
Speaking on the win, Rinehart thanked those who worked on the project and the support of the banks and export credit agencies that secured funding for the $10.5 billion mine.
“It is rare to be an executive throughout a major project, spanning decades, from infancy to production, and then to receive an award too, thank you PMI Australia,” she added.
Upon taking to the stage, Manchanda outlined how the project was delivered within budget with no lost time due to industrial relations stoppages.
“More than 25,000 direct construction workers were engaged and over 37.9 million hours worked during the construction phase,” Manchanda said.
“The air miles travelled by the charter plane between Perth and mine site in the 30 months are equivalent to three return flights between the earth and the moon.
“It has been designed and constructed to ensure that production costs are in the lowest quartile of iron ore producers worldwide.”
Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald added the mine is now focused on ramping up to full capacity of 55 million tonnes per annum.
