The contract involves the delivery of equipment for the new Hope Downs 4 iron ore line in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Under the five-year framework agreement, which is worth $A 467m, Ansaldo STS will support a major expansion of capacity on Rio Tinto's rail network as part of the mining giant's $A 8bn Pilbara investment programme, which will boost annual production to 333 million tonnes by 2015.