The two largest mining companies in the world – Rio Tinto and BHP – have signed an agreement for the joint extraction of up to 200 million tons of iron ore from adjacent Yandicoogina and Yandi sites located in the Pilbara region of Australia.
This is reported by Finway
Strategic Partnership for the Future
According to the signed agreement, the companies will jointly develop the Wunbye deposit (the Yandicoogina project), which belongs to Rio Tinto, and will process ore extracted from BHP’s Yandi site. The processing will take place at Rio Tinto’s production facilities under agreed commercial terms. This approach will allow for more efficient use of the existing infrastructure of both companies, contributing to increased productivity and cost optimization.
Benefits for the Industry and Future Plans
Matthew Holtz, CEO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, emphasized that the collaboration enables the maximum utilization of infrastructure resources and ensures additional production gains with minimal investments. Tim Day, President of BHP WA Iron Ore Asset, also highlighted the advantages of the partnership:
“This is a prime example of productivity in action – unlocking new opportunities by maximizing the use of our existing resources,” said Tim Day, President of BHP WA Iron Ore Asset.
As part of the agreement, the companies plan to conduct a conceptual study, followed by a more detailed magnitude assessment. If the investment decision is positive, the first iron ore from the two deposits could be extracted as early as the beginning of the next decade.
The new cooperation is based on a previous agreement in 2023 between Rio Tinto and BHP regarding the Mungadoo Pillar deposit, which allowed both companies to extract ore from a previously inaccessible boundary of joint ownership.