Doesn't apply to FDL,but not much hope for the rest of them.THE...

Doesn't apply to FDL,but not much hope for the rest of them.

THE leading mining industry lobby group has launched a strong attack on Fortescue Minerals' bid to force its way on to the Pilbara rail network owned by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

In a submission to the National Competition Council, Minerals Council chief executive officer Mitch Hooke said there was "no sound economic or legal policy basis" for forcing the two big iron ore miners to open their railways to competitors.

He warned it would have a chilling effect on the incentive to invest in such infrastructure and reduce operational efficiency and system capacity by 10 to 20 per cent.

"Why would you seek to compromise the best performing export infrastructure in Australia, if not the world?" he said.

"It would result in significant losses for at best trival offsetting benefits."

Run by mining entrepeneur Andrew Forrest, Fortescue is not a Minerals Council member. BHP and Rio are members.

Mr Hooke said that the Minerals Council would not normally get involved in a dispute between companies but had decided to take the unusual step because the case had such important policy implications.

"I have never seen such an open and shut case," he said. "This is privately built infrastructure that was never in public ownership."

Fortescue Metals Group has been fighting a long-running battle with BHP and Rio over third-party access to their rail infrastructure.

It has had relative success with its argument in the NCC and in Federal Court in having the Mt Newman rail track "declared" and thus required to be open to third parties.

Fortescue is now seeking to expand this declaration to the whole rail Pilbara network via the competition council. Meanwhile, BHP has appealed to the High Court to overturn various Federal Court judgments that have also gone in Fortescue's favour. Both BHP and Rio argue that any access would disrupt their tight production lines already running at full capacity.

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson last month warned BHP and Rio that they should negotiate access with Fortescue rather than fight the issue through the courts and other legal channels for years to come.

But Mr Ferguson is focused on negotiating commercial terms for haulage -- ore from other companies being carried on BHP or Rio trains -- rather than access for other companies' trains to use the track.

BHP and Rio are not quite as opposed to this concept although they still don't like it. They argue that it would still be disruptive and insist that they have no excess capacity anyway.

Fortescue believes that both companies would use this argument to insist there was no practical way to haul iron ore for others.

Fortescu has now built its own rail line but access to BHP and Rio rail networks would greatly improve the value of many other iron ore deposits in the Pilbara, including some of Fortescue's.

Mr Hooke said that given the public policy implications of the NCC deliberations, he had sent copies of his submission to various federal ministers as well.

He said that haulage was a different matter to third party access and one for commercial negotiations between the parties.

But he said it should remain a voluntary arrangement rather than a mandated one.

The Minerals Council believes that trade practices law should be amended to prevent imposing third party access on vertically integrated and tightly managed logistics chains, particularly in export industries.