WA Premier Mark McGowan has welcomed the announcement that Rio Tinto plans to upgrade its bulk handling facilities at Dampier’s East Intercourse Island, a project expected to create up to 150 jobs.
Rio’s planned upgrades include the manufacturing and installation of three replacement stackers, weighing a total of 1,860 tonnes.
McGowan says Rio has assured him most of the work will take place in Australia, and 97% of the labour for the stackers will be sourced from WA.
“These upgrades will allow Rio Tinto to continue its work out of Dampier long into the future and, most importantly, will create many jobs for Western Australians,” the premier said.
“Rio Tinto’s plan to undertake the majority of the manufacturing work for the three stackers in WA is great news for local workers.”
The news also follows the roll-out of Rio Tinto’s new procurement policy, which aims to provide more opportunities for Western Australian companies to tender for work on the miner’s projects.
McGowan said he was “pleased” with the procurement policy news.
“Upon being elected as premier, I met with mining companies and indicated that I would like to see more job and training opportunities for Western Australians and the response to date has been encouraging,” he said.