The following article appeared in the West Aust. The development...

The following article appeared in the West Aust. The development of the Geraldton Port is an intricate part in ROY'S future Iron Ore aspirations. The share price appeares to have bottomed and now heading in the right direction, which would suggest the iron ore exploration is developing well.

Article :

Mid-West split over port
29th June 2006, 17:58 WST


State may take over Oakajee plans as iron ore alliance frays

JOHN PHACEAS

The State Government is likely to take charge of planning for a private $1.6 billion deepwater port and rail development at Oakajee, north of Geraldton, amid signs of disunity in the fledgling Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance.

The alliance was launched barely four months ago to ensure aspiring iron ore miners in the Mid-West presented a united front in their quest to expand the industry.

But that unity appears in danger of evaporating after an international consortium led by local miner Murchison Metals said it was starting its own infrastructure feasibility study.

That is understood to have rankled some alliance members, most notably Midwest Corporation and its Chinese partner Sinosteel, which are also evaluating the region’s infrastructure needs. Murchison and Midwest are each planning iron ore mines north-east of Geraldton.

The State Government, which expects port and rail facilities to be fully funded by the private sector, also maintains that it is vital for the economic development of the region.

State Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said yesterday the emerging rift within the alliance underlined the need for an open tender process to make sure the resulting infrastructure met the needs of all potential users.

“It (Murchison’s proposal) does raise some interesting questions because it suggests that some of the partners of the alliance may be going their separate ways and running their own race,” she told WestBusiness.

That would weigh heavily on the Government steering committee now considering how expressions of interest (EoI) would best be managed.

“There are a couple of separate propositions: one that we as a Government control the EoI process, and the other proposal is ... that we allow them (the alliance) to run the EoI,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“I would have thought that if we have some of the proponents going off in their own direction, that would pretty much steer us even more towards a process of an open EoI.”

Ms MacTiernan said it was vital the port proposal be finalised by early 2008 before existing environmental approvals expire. But the prospect of Government meddling in a private investment process drew an immediate rebuke from alliance chairman Clive Brown.

“I don’t accept the view that unless you’ve got complete alignment on every nut and bolt that Government has to take charge,” he said.

“The private sector is only going to put up the funding if they can come to an appropriate arrangement with the miners concerned. Exactly how the (Government’s proposal) would operate remains questionable, because it can’t award a contract — it’s not like it can allocate the money.”

Mr Brown maintained that all alliance members were working together on the most pressing infrastructure issues, and that the ultimate ownership and management could be decided later.