PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner Roy Hill has officially taken over the mine, rail and port operations at its namesake project in the Pilbara from engineering, procurement and construction contractor Samsung.
Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald said this week that the company would begin the ramp-up of the Roy Hill operation to its 55-million-tonne-a-year nameplate capacity, and was focusing on building product stockpiles at the mine and port.
The company was also preparing to load its third shipment of iron-ore.
The $10-billion Roy Hill project shipped its first load of low phosphorus iron-ore in December last year, after initially missing its September ship-loading target owing to commissioning and operational constraints.
“Roy Hill is a long-term operation, with a long-term outlook. We are a low-cost producer, with low phosphorous impurities, significant lump ratio, consistent quality and with approximately 90% of Roy Hill’s quality product already under long-term contracts. Roy Hill will deliver considerable benefits to the Western Australian and Australian economies for many years to come,” Fitzgerald said.