Article by David Winning and Rhiannon Hoyle, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
24.06.2025
Key Points
Rio Tinto’s $800 million investment aims to maintain production levels across the Pilbara.
SYDNEY–Rio Tinto and the mining business of billionaire Gina Rinehart will together invest $1.6 billion to develop two large iron-ore deposits in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Rio Tinto said the Hope Downs 2 project, being developed in partnership with Hancock Prospecting, will include two new pits capable of producing a combined 31 million metric tons of iron ore each year. The mines and associated infrastructure are expected to be operational by 2027.
Iron ore from the new pits will be moved to the existing Hope Downs 1 operation for processing. Hope Downs 1 started production in 2007.
Rio Tinto said the new development will help it maintain production levels across the Pilbara by replacing output from mines that are nearly depleted.
The company, the world’s second-largest miner by market value, expects to invest more than $13 billion in new mines, plant and equipment over the three years through 2027. Its share of the Hope Downs 2 investment will be $800 million.
“These projects are part of our strategy to continue investing in Australian iron ore and to sustain Pilbara production for decades to come,” said Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott.
Earlier this month, Rio Tinto officially opened its newest Pilbara iron-ore mine, Western Range, a $2 billion project developed in partnership with China Baowu Steel, the world’s largest steelmaker. In March, the company announced plans to invest $1.8 billion to develop another Pilbara iron-ore project, the Brockman Syncline 1 mine.
Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King described the Pilbara as “the engine room of the nation’s economy.”
Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, alongside Brazil’s Vale SA, and earns most of its profit from supplying the steel ingredient to Asia.
Some investors have voiced concerns about the future of Australia’s iron-ore industry, as China’s steel production plateaus and a major new project, Simandou, is developed in Guinea. Rio Tinto is part of one of the consortia building the Simandou operations.
Still, the company has said it will need to open a new mine in the Pilbara every year through 2030 to ensure it can meet customer demand.
“The Pilbara has been critical to global steel supply for more than 60 years, and we are committed to ensuring it remains so well into the future,” Trott said.
