ABB bags $30m order from Rio Tinto

Power and automation technology group ABB has won a $30m order from Rio Tinto. The order, which was booked in the first quarter 2011, is for a substation that will increase power supply to enable Rio Tinto to expand iron ore mining at Hope Downs mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The turnkey project, which is scheduled for completion by mid-2012, includes the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a new 220/33 kV substation that will provide power to the new Hope Downs-4 mine.

The order includes civil and electrical works as well as the supply of power transformers, instrumentation transformers, disconnectors and a range of high- and medium-voltage air-insulated switchgear. Substation automation systems compliant with the IEC 61850 global standard will be supplied and equipped with the company’s latest generation of protection and control products. The substation will also feature 11 kV reactors and capacitor banks, which will help to reduce electric losses and improve network stability.

The existing 220 kV substation, which has been supplying power to the Hope Downs-1 mine for more than five years, was also constructed by ABB.