BR reported that global mining giant Rio Tinto planned to invest USD 4.2 billion to develop its iron ore business in Australia and Guinea to meet strong Chinese demand.

The Anglo Australian group said the investment covered USD 3.7 billion for expansion of the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia and USD 501 million for infrastructure development at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Mr Tom Albanese CEO of Rio Tinto said that "We are directing investment to projects that will generate the most attractive returns for shareholders and are resilient under any probable macroeconomic scenario."

Mr Sam Walsh CEO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore said that "We continue to see positive prospects for medium to long term iron ore demand driven by ongoing growth in Chinese consumption. We continue to forecast that annual Chinese steel production will grow from its current level of around 700 million tonnes to around one billion tonnes a year out towards 2030.

He said that "This demand growth is coupled with an increasingly challenged supply response, as several high profile competitor projects have recently been either delayed or postponed."