Rio is upbeat at Hope Downs BILLIONAIRE mining magnate Gina Rinehart's Pilbara's iron ore riches are to become even more lucrative thanks to the hi-tech Hope Downs 4 iron ore mine joint venture between her Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto becoming fully operational at the end of the month. Rio is the manager of the project, and it told an analyst tour of its operations in the Pilbara this week that the $US1.4 billion ($1.5bn) development should produce three million tonnes of iron ore in 2013, rising to 15 million tonnes in 2014.