CHARTS: The coming critical minerals trade war is BRICS short of a load
"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."
Mining Weekly reports mining giant BHP Billiton unveiled plans on Wednesday to increase its iron-ore production in the Pilbara region – the heart of Australia’s iron ore mining – to 450 million tonnes a year by adding infrastructure and building new mines.
BHP’s current iron-ore production capacity is 155 million tonnes a year in the Pilbara, while rival Rio Tinto’s capacity is 225 million tonnes a year. Rio Tinto announced a fortnight ago that it wants to grow output to 333 million tonnes by 2015.
Mining Weekly reports BHP estimated that its production target of 350-million tonnes a year could be reached by 2020, with no official date given for the 450-million-ton-a-year target.
The Age reported earlier in September Rio Tinto will spend $833 million on power and fuel infrastructure under plans to increase iron ore production in the region by 50% to 333 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by the first half of 2015.
