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According to the World Steel Association, steel is the most commonly used alloy in the world. Global steel consumption is forecast to grow by 1%-2% per annum over the next decade.
The first known steel application dates as far back as 11th century BC, in Cyprus where archaeologists found material suggesting that steel knives were already being made. Four centuries later, the Greek historian Herodotus referred to steel-inlaid bowls and, in the 3rd century BC, South Indian craftsmen were known to produce steel by smelting wrought iron with charcoal, using clay containers.
The Bessemer process to manufacture steel was developed by British inventor Henry Bessemer in the mid-1850s. In the middle of the twentieth century, the Bessemer process was refined into the Basic Oxygen Process that is still used today in blast furnaces.
Today, new technologies have great potential to improve how we engage with our markets. For example, our China portside customers will be able to order iron ore via a mobile app.
Today, we produce five iron ore products in Western Australia – including the Pilbara Blend, the world’s most recognised brand of iron ore – used in steelworks as sinter plant feed or direct blast furnace feed.
Our Pilbara Blend products are the world’s most recognised brand of iron ore, and are known for their high-grade quality and consistency. Our Pilbara Blend products make up approximately 65% of our iron ore product portfolio. It is also the largest and most liquid iron in the market today, known as the “US dollar of iron ore”. Our higher grade ores also contribute to reducing GHG and other air emissions, which, along with its liquidity and consistent quality, makes our products the preferred iron ore for the steel industry in China.
Our Yandicoogina products have a 58% iron content and low impurities, and produce a high-iron sinter. It is used by customers in East Asia and Southern China as the base load in their sinter blend.
Our Robe Valley products have a lower iron content and a low phosphorus content, which is valued by specialty steel producers with more niche applications.
Our iron ore operations in the Pilbara comprise a world-class, integrated network of 17 iron ore mines, four independent port terminals, a 2,000-kilometre rail network and related infrastructure. Insights from data help us to explore and extract our iron ore efficiently.
Our Operations Centre in Perth uses next-generation technologies, including artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, to run operations in real-time and respond quickly to changes. Our AutoHaul™ train system is the first fully autonomous, long-distance, heavy-haul rail network – one of the world’s largest robots.
Integrated mines in Western Australia
Mainstream iron ore products
Port terminals
Solar salt operations
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Since its first loaded run in July, we have safely and steadily increased the number of autonomous trips across our iron ore operations in Western Australia. AutoHaul™ have travelled more than 1.6 million kilometres in 2018.
AutoHaul™ improves safety by reducing risk at level crossings and through its automated responses to speed restrictions and alarms. It also eliminates the need to transport drivers to and from trains mid-journey saving almost 1.5 million kilometres of road travel each year. It also improves cycle times by using information about the train and rail network topography to calculate and deliver a safe, consistent driving strategy.
In 2019, we completed the first fully integrated paperless trade in iron ore. The whole process integrated intelligent contracts, electronic documents and a trade finance blockchain resulting in a faster, more streamlined transaction. Total transaction time was reduced from six days to 24 hours. This trade built on our first fully-digitised trade finance transaction completed in 2018.
And in 2022, we achieved first ore at Gudai-Darri, our most technologically advanced mine. In addition to technology already in use across our operations – such as autonomous trucks, trains, and drills – Gudai-Darri’s design is also far more automated and digitised, including advanced data analytics. This level of automation allows us to operate equipment and vehicles remotely from Perth, improving safety and efficiency.
Each of these elements works together to deliver high-quality iron ore to our customers reliably and safely.
Our $2.6 billion Gudai-Darri iron ore project is our most technologically advanced mine. In addition to technology already in use across Rio Tinto, such as autonomous trucks, trains and drills, Gudai-Darri has more than 70 design innovations in scope.
Our teams are also using a “digital asset” – a digital replica of the site that combines data from actual processing plants with historical design information to improve the way the plants are run. By using these 3D models, teams can understand the site’s layout and specifications long before they need to enter those areas and perform work.
We’re also using a patented, world-first reclaimer bucketwheel design, which allows our teams to change out the entire bucketwheel for maintenance, improving efficiency and safety. Our primary crusher uses a similar ‘removable’ design, allowing our teams to service it from the top – rather than performing higher-risk work below the crusher – and switch out consumables faster, reducing service and maintenance time. Gudai-Darri will set a benchmark for our industry in terms of automation and the use of data – making mining safer and more productive.
Our Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is a leading North American producer and exporter of premium iron ore pellets and high-grade concentrate. Our operations include a mine with five operational pits, a concentrator and a pelletising plant located near Labrador City, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in the region known as the “Labrador Trough”, an established basin with significant deposits for the supply of high-grade iron ore products. We also operate a wholly-owned railway that links our operations to our port facilities in Sept-Îles, Quebec.
Our IOC business targets niche, high-value segments of the seaborne iron ore market; our high-grade, low-impurity IOC products allow steelmakers to operate more productively and produce higher quality steels while meeting increasingly stringent environmental standards.
In 2019, we partnered with China’s largest steel producer, China Baowu Steel Group, and Tsinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious and influential universities, to work on a joint action plan – supported by the China Iron Steel Association to explore ways to improve environmental performance across the steel value chain. We will combine our strengths on everything from research and development, technologies, processes, equipment, logistics, industry coordination and policy advisory capacities to bring together solutions to help address the steel industry’s carbon footprint.
In 2021 we announced a partnership with Paul Wurth and SHS-Stahl-Holding-Saar (SHS) to explore the viability of transforming iron ore pellets into low-carbon hot briquetted iron, a low-carbon steel feedstock, using green hydrogen generated from hydro-electricity in Canada. The feasibility study is expected to be complete in late 2021, with an investment decision on a hydrogen based direct reduction plant at industrial scale expected to follow.
Our integrated operations, which include port facilities, ensure we can supply the right quality product to our customers, when they need it. We blend our products at our own ports, which allows us to produce a reliable and consistent product. And because we have dedicated shipping operations, we are able to better control the delivery of product to our customers.
Our mine plans are built to create value from our ore bodies and we use market signals to flex our production mix. We use real-time data analytics and artificial intelligence to respond quickly to market demand, and to help us anticipate future market conditions.
Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations are integrated across Labrador City, Newfoundland, and Sept-Iles, Quebec
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As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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