Rio Tinto's wholly owned Hamersley Iron is both one of Australia's, and one of the world's largest iron ore producers. It is a major supplier to the Pacific Rim and European steel industries. It currently has seven operational mines, with five in Australia and a sixth in China. The Yandicoogina mine has recently began production, initially at 5 million tonnes, but with scope to increase to 15 million tonnes per year, based on market conditions. Production from the Nammuldi mine should beginning shortly.
Robe River is one of the world's lowest cost iron ore operations.
The Hope Downs project is the last major unexploited deposit in Australia. Around 6 Mt of iron ore products are expected to be produced annually. ABM and Canadian Ivanhoe Mines have agreed to merge operations.