Rio Tinto is proceeding with plans to build a $A400-million HIsmelt pig iron plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, where the company largely developed the revolutionary direct-smelting technology. The commercial-scale plant will have an annual capacity of up to 800,000 metric tons (mt) of high-quality pig iron (96% iron content) and will process currently unsaleable, high-phosphorous iron-ore fines found in vast quantities in Western Australia's Pilbara iron-ore district.By some estimates, the project has the potential to dounle Pilbara's iron-ore reserves.