[EXTRACT] NZ’s Todd family confident Pilbara iron project will go ahead
Flinders Mining's Pilbara iron project
The Australian
7:40PM January 23, 2017
The billionaire New Zealand family behind an ambitions $5 billion proposed iron ore development in Western Australia’s Pilbara are confident the project can start construction next year, despite not yet having its foot on enough iron ore to support the plan.
Todd Corp, the private conglomerate owned by NZ’s Todd family, on Monday signed a state agreement with the WA government spelling out the framework for its proposed Balla Balla infrastructure project.
The $5bn development will include a 160km railway network and a so-called trans-shipping port, with the entire operation capable of exporting about 50 million tonnes of iron ore a year.
Todd Corp subsidiary BBI Group is confident it can strike a suitable agreement with ASX-listed Flinders Mines, in which Todd owns a 53.4 per cent stake, which will secure hematite ore from Flinders’ Pilbara iron ore project. BBI itself only owns a magnetite deposit near the proposed port site, roughly halfway between Karratha and Port Hedland, which BBI chairman John Young on Monday conceded was “technically challenging” and which is unlikely to be developed at current iron ore prices.
But he was confident that either Flinders or the owners of other undeveloped iron ore resources in the region would be eager to sign up to use Todd’s infrastructure network, describing it as “the most competitive world-scale greenfields iron ore project on the planet”.
“This is meant to be a common infrastructure project, and there are lots of stranded iron ore deposits in the Pilbara, and we’re engaged with all the owners of those resources to garner interest to use those export systems,” Mr Young said.
“We’re hopeful (an agreement with Flinders) will come to pass but we have other options and other customers wishing to use the system.”
Todd launched its foray into iron ore back in 2015, acquiring the Balla Balla plans through a takeover of Rutila Resources and launching a bid for Flinders.
The commitment to the development and BBI’s belief that the project can secure funding is the latest sign of the turning tide in the state’s iron ore industry.
Iron ore posted a surprise rally in 2016, easing the pressure on an industry that had been blighted by years of major job cuts and a widespread spending freeze.
While several companies including Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron have flagged development projects this year to help replace ageing mines, Todd’s proposal is the biggest greenfields iron ore development plan to surface in Australia since 2014’s collapse in iron ore prices.
Mr Young said Monday’s state agreement would give its Balla Balla plans further credibility as it steps up discussions with potential equity and debt providers as well as possible offtake partners.
“Projects like this involve bringing together literally dozens of stakeholders to spend billions of dollars to then be exposed to the vagaries of commodity markets,” Mr Young said.
“They are high-risk, challenging projects and they never get up without the strong support of government.”
Flinders Mines entered a trading halt on Monday, with a spokesman for the company declining to comment.
BBI plans to make a final investment decision on the project — which would employ up to 3000 people during construction and around 900 during its operation — by 2018.
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