Denmark-based engineering company FLSmidth has been selected by Rio Tinto to supply key minerals handling equipment for its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia.

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Image: FLSmidth would design the equipment to meet the latest Australian standards and incorporate smart 3D design. Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.

The contract is a turn-key contract for the design, supply, installation and commissioning for Rio Tinto’s new greenfield iron ore mine, Koodaideri.

FLSmidth is expected to provide the products and know-how that would be helpful in developing the Koodaideri mine to be Rio Tinto’s most technologically advanced mine to date. For the first time Rio Tinto is going to apply smart technology for interconnecting all components in the mining value chain.

FLSmidth would design the equipment to meet the latest Australian standards and incorporate smart 3D design and a variety of advanced engineering solutions, like BulkExpert.

FLSmidth Mining president Manfred Schaffer said: “Koodaideri will set new benchmarks in digitalization and will feature the most technologically advanced solutions employed to date in the iron ore sector.

“This will enable Rio Tinto to run the most advanced mining operation featuring high productivity and high safety in a cost-efficient set-up and we are proud to be part of this.”

Construction at the Koodaideri mine will commence this year, with the first ore expected to be fully functional by late 2021 with a production capacity of 43 million tonnes of iron ore per year.

In November 2018, Rio Tinto approved an investment of A$3.5bn ($2.6bn) in the Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Located about 110km from Newman, the iron ore mine is expected to underpin production of the Pilbara Blend iron ore product.

Rio Tinto, which is the sole owner of the Koodaideri iron ore mine, will develop it in two phases.

The exact total contract value for FLSmidth to supply the equipment for the mine was not disclosed but is anticipated to be approximately $56m.

In March 2018, FLSmidth completed the acquisition of the Sandvik Mining Systems projects business. The acquisition included continuous surface mining and minerals handling technologies and competences that strengthen the company’s core minerals business.