Pilbara

In the Pilbara, a land of parched grasslands, low, weathered mountains and desert in Western Australia, Rio Tinto is mining some the world's largest iron ore deposits. The Pilbara is the closest sizeable reserve of iron ore to the rapidly expanding Chinese and Indian markets.Rio Tinto has built an infrastructure of mines, railways and ports in the Pilbara to meet this demand.

Output from Rio Tinto's 14 Pilbara mines is currently 225 million tonnes a year. In 2015, if demand continues to warrant it, this will have increased to 333 million tonnes a year from 20 mines. The future capacity of the mines suggests output of 433 million tonnes a year. Rio Tinto is investing in the new mines and port facilities as well as major water, power and fuel supply projects. These developments will increase employment in the area, not least for Indigenous Australians of whom Rio Tinto is proud to be the largest employer.

In acknowledgement of mutual recognition and respect between Rio Tinto and the Traditional Owners, we have sealed land use partnerships with indigenous groups across the Pilbara and is in advanced negotiations with the remaining groups upon whose land the mining or infrastructure operations are situated.

Amidst some of the oldest rocks on earth Rio Tinto, where we ranch cattle on the vast lands we own, Rio Tinto is applying some of the most modern technology in our innovative Mine of the Future™ initiative. Mine of the Future™ is designed to create next generation technologies to make mining more efficient, lower production costs, improve health, safety and environmental performance. Mine of the Future™ is already here today. Our high technology Operations Centre in Perth controls transport and machinery in the Pilbara, some 1,500 km away, allowing employees more attractive working conditions than in the harsh environment of the Pilbara itself.