WA mining jobs boost at Rio Tinto Silvergrass iron ore mine

WA mining jobs at Rio Tinto silvergrass mine (a $468 million iron ore investment) in Western Australia was opened a couple of months ago and is set to create hundreds of FIFO jobs when its operational status goes into full swing next year (2018).

Around 250 FIFO workers are expected to call it their temporary home. This new mine is a much needed boost for WA’s economy, which has suffered due to the drop in demand from iron ore consumers in Asia.

70 kilometres out from Tom Price, Rio Tinto’s Silvergrass mine is a huge $468 million investment by Rio Tinto at a time when iron ore prices have picked up and restructuring of the Chinese market is good news for Australian producers.

Two years ago, Gina Reinhart’s Pilbara-based iron ore mine Roy Hill also came online after much controversy amid a massive drop in the price of iron ore. Despite a lull in the market, the recent activity in the Pilbara signals a new wave of mining jobs in the west.

There’s no signals of a return to the gold rush mentality of a few years back – but for those looking for mining jobs in WA – it’s a good time to turn your focus to the Golden state.

The Silvergrass has quite low volumes of iron ore, with only 20 million tonnes but Rio Tinto said when blended with other ore from it’s Pibara mine, it creates a very good premium product. It’s not uncommon for Pilbara iron ore to be mixed (blended) with other ore from different mines to create a superior product. Much research has been carried out to improve the blending process and by all accounts, it has been very successful and has Chinese buyers once again taking notice and placing large volumes of orders.

Rio in the Pilbara

(image courtesy of Rio Rinto Silvergress iron ore mine)

Rio Tinto Pilbara operations –include a world-class network of 16 iron ore mines, four independent port/ship-loading terminals. Their WA rail network spans some 1,700 kilometres. Just about everything in terms of logistics are managed and supported by their Operations Centre which is thousands of kilometres away from the mines in Perth.

Rio has also been given the green light to investigate another iron ore mine in the Pilbara, this time near Newman worth more than 2.2 billion dollars.

Reference: WA mining jobs at Rio Tinto Silvergrass mine