Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project has secured the cash it needs in a $US7.2 billion funding deal.
The influx of cash will allow the 55Mtpa iron ore mine to kick into the construction phase, unhindered by financial constraints.
The Roy Hill iron ore project has been the centre of media attention from the outset, as Rinehart battled to convince investors her mining project in the remote Pilbara was viable.
Thousands of WA jobs will be created
The good news will be a relief for many people who have their sights set on grabbing one of the thousands of WA jobs that will now be created. Tradespeople, mining specialists and management professionals will descend on the mine site over the next year.
Teaming with workers and brand new machinery, the Roy Hill project is expected to set new standards in mining technology and efficiency.
The financing deal includes a mixture of Australian and overseas investors who see great merit in partnering with Gina Rinehart. Five export credit agencies and a collaboration of 19 commercial banks from Australia, Japan, Europe, China, Korea and Singapore make up the loans and guarantees for the project.
The iron ore industry in Australia has suffered from the fluctuation in the global market, where supply and demand often do not align with one another.
Only a few years ago, developing countries like China and Japan could not get enough iron ore from Australian mining companies and as such, the price of the raw material shot through the roof.
These days, the spot price of iron ore sits somewhere in the region of $110 a tonne – some 200% cheaper than the previous top of the market prices.
Despite the tough competition from other WA mining companies who also have vast iron ore mining operations in the Pilbara, the Roy Hill project pushes ahead.
“the biggest mining construction project in Australia”
The Roy Hill mine is the biggest mining construction project in Australia and will create thousands of mining jobs – which will consist predominantly of FIFO workers from Perth. At this present time, there are about 2,500 construction workers� employed at the Roy Hill mine.
$10 billion investment in Roy Hill
In term of where the money will be spent – it’s estimated $10 billion will be spent building the mine, complete with a 344-kilometre railway line to Port Hedland, plus the construction of port facilities to export the iron ore from Port Hedland Harbour.
Roy Hill management expect iron ore production to kick in at the end of 2015. Stay up to date with the Roy Hill iron ore project by getting your weekly copy of iMINCO Project News. iMINCO will be monitoring the progress of the mine construction over the next 12 months.
“Roy Hill will be Australia’s fourth-biggest iron ore producer”
Roy Hill mining jobs will be continually advertised over the coming months and it pays to be kept up to date, especially for those people looking for a job on the iron ore project.
In terms of production capacity, Roy Hill has it’s sights set on producing 55 million tonnes of iron ore each year, which would make it Australia’s fourth-biggest iron ore producer, behind Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group.
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