Rio Tinto in $1 bn iron ore investments in Australia, Canada

LONDON: Mining giant Rio Tinto announced Tuesday that it will invest more than one billion dollars at the group's existing iron ore operations in Australia and Canada.

"Rio Tinto has approved a $933-million investment to extend the life of the Marandoo iron ore mine by 16 years to 2030," the London-based resources giant said in a statement.

The Marandoo mine is part of the Anglo-Australian miner's large operations in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

At the same time, Rio Tinto said it has agreed to invest more cash in its Canadian iron ore joint venture.

"Rio Tinto has given the go-ahead to a further $277 million investment (Rio Tinto share $163 million) in the next phase of a project that will ultimately raise the Iron Ore Company of Canada's concentrate production capacity by 40 per cent to 26 million tonnes per year."

The Iron Ore Company of Canada is the nation's biggest iron ore producer and is 58.7-per cent owned by Rio Tinto.