Rio Tinto’s cutting edge Gudai-Darri mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara has officially been opened.
Since development began in April 2019, 14 million work hours have culminated in the delivery of Rio Tinto’s 17th iron ore mine, which has a capacity of 43 million tonnes per annum.
It is the company’s most technologically advanced iron ore mine in the region, featuring some of the most front-line equipment, including a robotic ore sampling laboratory which provides visibility of the ore grades out of the mine within minutes.
There are autonomous trucks, trains and drills, which are standard across many of Rio Tinto’s Pilbara mines, and a digital replica of the processing plant which allows teams to quickly test different situations digitally before implementing.
With an expected mine life of more than 40 years, Gudai-Darri expects to increase iron ore production volumes from the second half of this year and reach capacity in 2023.
Rio Tinto is building a 34 megawatt solar farm consisting of 83,000 solar panels that will power one-third of the mine’s electricity needs, with completion expected in August 2022.
The iron ore miner also has plans to develop a one gigawatt solar and wind power operation in the Pilbara, which could be seven times bigger than Western Australia’s largest solar farm.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said the multi-billion dollar investment in Western Australia would boost the economy and its 40-year mine life would support thousands of jobs into the future.
“Western Australia offers a stable investment environment – we have a strong economy, highly-skilled workforce, and world-class mineral resources backed by industry-leading mining and logistics infrastructure. This means our state is well-placed for the future,” he said.
Present at the opening ceremony along with representatives of Pilbara Traditional Owners, the Banjima People, Mines and Petroleum Bill Johnston said Rio Tinto’s innovation and sustainability was a prototype of the mine of the future.
“Once the new solar farm is complete, it will be able to power one-third of Gudai-Darri’s operational needs with renewable energy. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90,000 tonnes a year, which is the same amount produced by 6000 Australian homes each year,” he said.