Pilbara Iron, a division of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, has been nominated for the Best Metalliferous Mine of the Year in the 3rd Annual Australian Mining Prospect Awards. Pilbara Iron, a division of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, has employed a sustainable development decision making methodology to choose a rail route for a new iron ore project being planned in Western Australia. Rio Tinto reached agreement in 2005 with Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd to purchase a 50 percent interest in the Hope Downs iron ore assets. The project development is being managed by Rio Tinto Iron Ore Expansion projects and is currently in the approvals process. One of the key project decisions, comprising a number of economic, social and environmental aspects, was to determine which rail route is the best option to transport ore from the mine to Rio Tinto iron Ore's existing rail network. The project team chose to utilise the sustainable development decision making methodology as a tool to assess the identified options and to deliver a recommended decision to the business. The methodology considered the economic, environmental and social aspects of a decision much earlier than the previous decision making process which was based on economic criteria and considered social and environmental aspects as risks.
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