Hancock gets green light for $7.2bn iron ore rail link
The unlisted company owned by Australia’s wealthiest woman, Hancock Prospecting, has been given the green light to develop a rail line connecting its Roy Hill iron ore project to Port Hedland in Western Australia.
Image courtesy of Hancock Prospecting
The WA Government has approved a $7.2 billion plan by Roy Holdings, Gina Rinehart’s company’s joint-venture with South Korean steelmaker POSOC, to develop a 300 km rail line connecting the Roy Hill mine, about 110 km north of Newman, with port infrastructure.
WA Premier Colin Barnett said, “The State Agreement with Roy Hill Infrastructure Pty Ltd is a major step forward for the development of the mine and allows construction of the railway line connecting the mine to port facilities to proceed.”
Roy Hill Infrastructure Pty Ltd will also develop stockyards at Boodarie; a train unloader; access corridors to the Inner Harbour; and two berths.
“On completion, this project will enable greater access for smaller miners to rail infrastructure in the region, with provision for access or haulage services for these companies,” said Barnett.
The Roy Hill Iron Ore mine has mineral resources of more than one billion tonnes and an estimated production rate of 55 million tonnes per annum expected to commence in 2014, with resources destined for markets in north Asia.
“The Roy Hill mine is expected to be a feature in Western Australia’s resource industry for many years to come and it has a proven resource base that will sustain the project for at least the next two decades,” the Premier said.
“I welcome this project and congratulate parent company Hancock Prospecting along with their Korean partners. This project adds to this State’s reputation as being one of the world’s great mineral precincts and will help feed the powerhouse economies in north Asia.”
Construction of the rail line is expected to begin by mid-2011.
Includes material sourced from www.railexpress.com.au
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