Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd announced that they will immediately begin construction at their Western Australian iron ore project. The Western Australian government has granted the company approval for their US$1 billion Hope Downs project. The project is a joint venture with the Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd. The development cost of around US$590 million will be shared both companies. On completion of the first stage of the project, the mine is expected to have an annual capacity of 22 million tons by early 2008. This will be raised to 30 million tons on completion of the second phase of the project. Rio will be investing a further US$390 million in order to cover the capital cost of rail, rolling stock and power infrastructure required for this development. (Apr. 27)