Name and Location
Western Turner syncline Stage 2 project, Pilbara, Australia.

Client
Hamersley Iron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

Project Description
The Western Turner syncline Stage 2 project will be integrated into the Greater Tom Price mining operation. It involves openpit mining at the B1 and S17 iron-ore deposits, located 30 km west of the Tom Price mine, in the central Pilbara region of Western Australia. The mine is expected to operate at production rates of up to 32-million tonnes a year for at least 15 years.

The project will include:
• The openpit mining of iron-ore at up to an estimated 32-million tonnes a year from the B1 deposit, comprising one main pit and four small satellite pits, and the S17 deposit, comprising eight pits, for at least 15 years.
• An infrastructure corridor about 12 km long, linking B1 to the S10 mine site, including a conveyor system, light and heavy vehicle access roads, above-ground power lines, water pipelines and communications.
• Mine support infrastructure, located predominantly near B1, comprising primary crushing facilities, a run-of-mine pad, workshops, a fuel storage/refuelling facility, waste disposal facilities, an explosives storage facility, communications infrastructure, heavy and light vehicle access roads, power distribution infrastructure, administration facilities and other required ancillary facilities, when required.
• Dewatering of the B1 main pit through in-pit bores at extraction rates of about 13-million litres a day to enable mining at a depth of about 185 m below the water table. Required rates of dewatering are expected to peak in the first two years of operation and then decline. The four B1 satellite pits are above the water table.
• Minor dewatering of the S17 pits 3 and 8 to enable mining to about 10 m below the water table. The other six pits at S17 are above the water table.
• Water supply from mine dewatering, with current demand predicted to average six-million litres a day. Should dewatering rates be insufficient to meet operational requirements, additional water supply will be sourced from existing or new borefields in the vicinity of the project.
• Discharge from dewatering exceeding operational requirements to a watercourse north of the B1 deposit.
• Mineral waste disposal in about two permanent out-of-pit waste dumps. Progressive backfill of the B1 satellite pits and the S17 pits will be undertaken, where practical, with the priority being to ensure S17 pits 3 and 8 are backfilled to a level sufficient to prevent the formation of pit lakes.
• Stockpiling of high-grade and low-grade ore in about five out-of-pit stockpiles.
• Stockpiling of topsoil and subsoil.
• Clearing of up to 2 500 ha of native vegetation within the project boundary.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Project construction is planned to start in the first half of 2014.

Latest Developments
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority has submitted its advice and recommendations on the proposal to develop the Western Turner Syncline Stage 2 project to the Minister for Environment.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Rio Tinto Iron Ore, tel +61 8 9327 2000, fax +61 8 9366 5468 or
email CommunicationsExternalRelations-WA@riotinto.com.