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Juniors under pressure over port space for the proposed pilbararailway by ferujkll sdff
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Juniors under pressure over port space for the proposed pilbararailway |
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The West Australian reported that a proposed Pilbara railway thatwould break the dominance of the iron ore majors is under threat,with the Port Hedland Port Authority trying to force emergingmining companies behind the rail proposal to slash their allocatedberth space at the giant harbor. The port wants the North West Infrastructure partners Atlas Iron,Atlas subsidiary FerrAus, and Brockman Resources to cut theirannual allocation at the planned South West Creek facility from 50million tonnes to 35 million tonnes as part of final negotiationsover the site, according to sources close to the talks. A desire to free up capacity for future potential industrialprojects at the nearby Boodarie industrial estate scene of BHP'sdisastrous HBI project is said to be behind the authority's push. But the cutback in harbor capacity could undermine the financialviability of a fourth rail line in the region, which wouldpotentially throw a lifeline to otherwise-stranded junior players. Atlas and Queensland based QR Rail announced a jointly fundedfeasibility study into the project last week.
As part of the port negotiations, which will also resolve thecontentious use it or lose it provisions for the junior players andwhether their leases will be transferable, the authority wants torequire the NWI partners to relinquish their South West Creek spaceby as early as 2025 should BHP's USD 22 billion outer harbordevelopment get up. They would then be expected to piggy back offBHP's project. This latter clause would add further doubt to the financialviability of the junior miners' attempts to gain an extra footholdin the hotly contested harbor, in addition to the Utah Pointfacility, which opened in 2010. Mr Mike Loly, project director for NWI, declined to comment otherthan to confirm talks were ongoing.
However, state transport minister Mr Troy Buswell warned the portauthority that the Government would not tolerate a cut in the NWI's50 million tonnes annual allocation, and that he was keen to ensurejunior miners had a seat at the lucrative iron ore export table. He said that "A reduction in capacity, and the enforcement of therelocation of the outer harbor clause, would make the NWInfrastructure project incredibly difficult to fund and thereforeadvance the project." Mr Buswell did say that he was comfortable with a clause thatensured the NWI partners would relinquish their South West Creekcapacity if they did not develop the facility within a reasonableperiod of time, but Atlas has said it wants the site operational by2015. The South West Creek extension is also the site of Hancock Mining'sberth for its USD 10 billion Roy Hill mine, which will ship up to55 million tonnes of iron ore a year from 2014. Industry speculation has also centered on Andrew Forrest'sFortescue Metals Group eyeing off some of the capacity at the NWIsite. Despite holding talks with the port recently, the authority is saidto be baulking at the government edict not to slash the NWIallocation.
A spokesman for the authority said that the talks were part of itsbroader ongoing strategic review and that a decision on the NWIfacility had still to be taken. He added that "Decision gatewaysare some months away around many of the review items beingdiscussed and considered, so the PHPA is unable to provide any newinformation." Source - The West Australian. I am a professional writer from Motor Parts, which contains a great deal of information about watch battery 377 , timex watch battery, welcome to visit!
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