News

Roy Hill employees have banded together to donate $1 million to iconic Western Australian children’s charity Telethon in 2021. Across our operations from Perth to the Pilbara, and with the support and generosity of our Executive Chairman, Mrs Rinehart, we’re delighted to support the Telethon Trust and the amazing organisations who benefit from their funding. The donation has been made possible through a unique program called the Chairman’s Profit Share (CPS). Initiated by Mrs Rinehart, the CPS is designed to recognise and reward staff for their contribution to business performance, so when Roy Hill does well, our people do well.

Premier Mark McGowan congratulated the industry on a successful battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our efforts to crush the virus quickly and keep our economy and mining industry open has not only benefited Western Australians but the nation more broadly, with WA continuing to provide the largest per capita financial contribution to the Federation,” he said.

Mining giant Vale SA and an Asian-owned metals producer are among the first to tap a Brazilian program that aims to cut red tape and speed up mining projects in the South American nation.

Roy Hill will purchase the world’s first fully battery-powered, heavy-haul locomotive from Pittsburgh-based Wabtec, transforming the cost of transporting iron ore from pit to port. “The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is a bold step toward a low-to-zero-emission locomotive future,” Mendonca said. “We continue working on solutions that cut the overall carbon footprint of the industries we serve through the development of low-emitting locomotives like the FLXdrive, and the use of alternative fuels such as bio-diesel, renewable diesel and hydrogen.”

Based on the route and Roy Hill’s rail operations, the FLXdrive is anticipated to reduce the company’s fuel costs and emissions in percentage by double digits per train. The ongoing use of the FLXdrive will also reduce ongoing operational costs through maintenance spend. Simon Pascoe, General Manager of Engineering for Roy Hill, says: “Our analysis with Wabtec confirms the FLXdrive locomotive is ideally suited for our rail network. It has the horsepower to operate in a heavy haul train consist pulling loaded wagons with 35,000 t of iron ore, while at the same time reducing the entire train’s fuel consumption. The FLXdrive also is designed to function in the extreme heat of the Pilbara region.”

Roy Hill is set to be the first Pilbara miner to use a battery-powered electric locomotive to transport its iron ore to port. The Gina Rinehart-controlled company has bought the newest version of the FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive which has an energy capacity of 7 megawatt hours from US-based manufacturer Wabtec. Roy Hill chief executive Gerhard Veldsman said the company was committed to transforming the next generation of transportation by adopting advanced technologies that improve energy efficiency, lower operating costs and improve its rail and mining network.

Courtesy of the West Australian.

An iron ore export boom combined with a spending spree by West Australians living free of COVID restrictions propelled WA to a record-breaking $5.6 billion surplus last financial year — the second-largest booked by any State government in Australia. WA is now the only State projecting surpluses over the next four years, including $2.8b in 2021-22.

Front pages, 10 September 2021.

WA expects to deliver a cumulative $9bn in operating surpluses over the next four years, despite Treasury factoring in a pullback in iron ore prices to just $US66 a tonne. Iron ore prices spent much of the past year above $US200 a tonne and are currently above $US130 a tonne. The strength in WA’s economy, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 4.6 per cent, has prompted the government to delay more than a dozen major infrastructure projects by a year in an attempt to smooth out the pipeline of work.