Mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s flagship iron ore mining company has confirmed jobs will be cut from its Pilbara operations, but has declined to say how many people will be affected.
In a statement to the ABC, Hancock Iron Ore would not say how many jobs would go, but multiple reports from industry sources put the figure in the hundreds.
The company said it had recently completed its “annual life of mine planning”, and was working to optimise its processes.
“We continuously look at optimising our mine plan,” the statement said.
“The latest iteration extends our life of mine by 10 years, maximising how much of the orebody we can turn into product and reduce the amount of waste we mine.
“The result is that we need to reduce our mining activity at the Roy Hill mine while still maintaining our production rate above 63MTPA for the Roy Hill system.”
Gina Rinehart is a major employer in Western Australia and across the country. (Supplied: Hancock Prospecting)
Hancock said it would “work with all affected” by the job losses.
Other media reports have suggested there could be as many as 500 jobs cut, a figure the ABC was unable to independently verify.
Atlas Iron and Roy Hill operations combined under the banner of Hancock Iron Ore last year.
The operation produces more than 70 million tonnes of ore per annum.
