BL/Rio Delivers 1st Shipment of Iron Ore to China From Hope Downs
By Chris Young
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group, the world's third biggest miner, said it delivered its first contracted shipment of iron ore to China today from its joint owned Hope Downs mine in Western Australia.
The 170,000 tons of iron ore arrived in Dalian Port and was delivered to Chinese steelmaker Anshan Iron & Steel Group, London-based Rio said in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg News.
The delivery from the $1 billion mine, started in November and 50 percent owned by Hancock Prospecting Pty., marks an expansion by Rio in Western Australia to meet surging demand for iron ore from China, the world's largest steelmaker. Capacity of the mine is targeted to reach 30 million tons in 2009.
``It highlights our ongoing rapid expansion to unlock more iron ore to underpin global development,'' Sam Walsh, London- based chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, said in the statement.
Rio, the second-largest exporter of iron ore, in January completed a $1.4 billion expansion of Dampier Port in Western Australia, lifting iron-ore capacity by 90 percent.
The contract price of iron ore has risen to a record as steelmakers in China boosted output of the alloy. China imported 146 million metric tons of iron ore from Australia last year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Young in Sydney at cyoung12@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 19, 2008 22:14 EDT
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