Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are separately stepping up expansion plans in the Pilbara region of Western Australia just days after the two global mining groups abandoned a 16-month attempt to combine their iron ore mines and infrastructure assets in the region.
The extra investment and production underlines the confidence of the two UK-listed miners in continuing strong demand from China and other emerging economies and their determination to remain dominant suppliers in the market.
Rio said it would invest an additional $3.1bn to expand its port and rail operations, lifting to $6bn the amount of capital it has approved for investment in the Pilbara since July.