07:05 AM EDT, 04/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Rio Tinto (RIO) said Thursday that its first locally made iron ore rail car has been built in Western Australia.

The company is investing about 150 million Australian dollars ($95.2 million) to buy 100 locally built rail cars.

The first 40 rail cars will be built at Gemco's Forrestfield facility in Perth, as it sets up a manufacturing workshop in Karratha, where 60 more rail cars will be made later this year.

The rail cars will each carry up to 118 tonnes of iron ore from Rio Tinto's 17 mines in the Pilbara to its ports, the company said.