Financials for 2023?, page-10

Another issue on which a fertile mind could muse is transport. What is the current study on the Narrogin to Wickepin and Narrogin to Kulin going to recommend, and when?

And further, if reconnecting the a useful rail link does not happen, what is the limit that road transport can handle? Andrew Sorrensen has mentioned a limit of 500,000 tpa. That is a lot of kaolin, and it would take a long time to ramp up to that capacity. Further, does the 500,000 tpa relate to transporting to Kwinana and Perth, and if so, does WAK's interest in transporting by road to the Port of Bunbury change anything?

I have views on these issues, but loaded with ifs and buts. Consequently, the transport issue can also be ignored until WAK states something about it, or the current study commissioned by the WA Government is published. If the rail link is delayed for a long time, that is that. If the Narrogin to Kulin line is recommended, that is the line on which the Wedin railway siding is, so it is, but for exact timing, what WAK has factored into the future. If only the Narrogin to Wickepin line is reconnected, that may raise a few more issues, but there is very little difference in the distance to Wedin relative to Wickepin. WAK owns land on which to build storage and loading facilities at Wedin, so Wedin would be preferred.

All WAK's costings are currently based on road transport.