Toll joins consortium looking at Western Australia port, rail link

Toll joins consortium looking at Western Australia port, rail link    Melbourne-based Toll Holdings Ltd., recent purchasers of Australian ports and airport operator Patrick Corp., has joined a consortium studying the development of a new deepwater port and rail corridor in the midwestern region of Western Australia.
   The consortium also includes Australia’s iron ore company Murchison Metals Ltd., along with South Korea’s POSCO Engineering and Construction Co., and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.
   A feasibility study is already investigating the development and construction of a new port at Oakajee, 23 kilometers north of the Port of Geraldton, capable of berthing Cape Class bulk ore carrying vessels. The study is also examining a new rail link to Murchison Metals’ iron ore Jack Hills Project, located 380 kilometers northeast of Geraldton, which will connect to the proposed Oakajee port. The study is expected to be completed by mid-2007.
   Murchison Metals’ Jack Hills Project contains deposits of high grade hematite ore able to be mined and shipped directly to customers without further processing or concentration. With the new port and rail link, Murchison Metals aims to raise production to 25 million tons, with iron ore being railed to Oakajee for export to North Asia.
   The consortium estimates that the project will require investment in the region of A$1.6 billion ($1.17 billion).