Rio Tinto and BHP to join forces in the Pilbara region

The companies will cooperate to extract up to 200 million tons of iron ore from two adjacent sites

Rio Tinto and BHP, two of the world’s leading mining companies, have agreed to cooperate in the extraction of up to 200 million tons of iron ore in the adjacent Yandicoogina and Yandi areas in the Pilbara region. This is stated in a Rio Tinto press release.

The companies will work together to develop Rio Tinto’s Wunbye deposit (Yandicoogina project) and process ore from BHP’s Yandi site at Rio Tinto’s facilities on agreed commercial terms.

As noted by Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Matthew Holtz, this will allow the parties to make better use of existing infrastructure to unlock additional production with minimal capital expenditure.

«This is a great example of productivity in action — unlocking new opportunities by making the most of our existing resources,» said Tim Day, President of BHP WA Iron Ore Asset.

Rio Tinto and BHP have agreed to conduct a concept study, followed by an order of magnitude study. Subject to a final investment decision, the first ore from both deposits is expected in the early part of the next decade.

The new collaboration builds on a 2023 agreement between Rio Tinto and BHP for the Mungadoo Pillar deposit, which allowed ore to be mined from a previously inaccessible joint boundary.

It should be recalled that at the end of last year, BHP and Rio Tinto began testing Caterpillar electric dump trucks in Pilbara. The project is being implemented in a unique three-party collaboration and aims to test the viability of electric traction as an alternative to diesel fuel in large iron ore quarries.