Rio Tinto to ship 4 billion tonnes of iron ore to China By Investing.com

PERTH, Australia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto is today celebrating the shipment of 4 billion tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in Western Australia to China.

The cargo was loaded at Dampier Port on July 19 and was destined for China Baosteel Group, the world’s largest steelmaker. The milestone comes 51 years after the first shipment of around 22,000 tonnes of Pilbara iron ore was made from Dampier to China’s Shanghai No. 1 Steelworks (now part of China Baosteel Group).

Over more than half a century, China has grown to become Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:) largest customer, shipping about 250 million tonnes of iron ore each year.

Four billion tonnes of iron ore is enough to produce the steel needed to build around 45,000 Sydney Harbour Bridges or more than 23,000 Beijing National Stadiums (Bird’s Nest).

Rio Tinto partnered with China in 1987 to establish the Chanar joint venture, which was China’s first investment in an overseas mining project and its largest overseas investment at the time. The joint venture in Western Australia laid the foundation for many subsequent projects and decades of mutual growth and prosperity for Rio Tinto, China and Australia.

Rio Tinto’s newest mine, Western Range, is its latest joint venture partnership with China Baowu. The mine is expected to begin production in 2025 and will have an annual iron ore production capacity of 25 million tonnes.

Rio Tinto CEO Simon Trott said “China has been a key partner for Rio Tinto and the Australian mining industry for more than 50 years.”

China’s strong demand for high-quality minerals such as iron ore creates significant opportunities for investment and trade between the two countries.

Whenever I visit China and see the skyscrapers, the high-speed rail, and all the infrastructure that has improved the lives of 1.4 billion people, it makes me proud to know that much of what I see contains steel made from Rio Tinto’s iron ore.

We look forward to continuing our relationship with China in the future as we deepen our strategic partnership.

Notes to editors

Some of the images showing Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments can be downloaded here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240718519213/ja/

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