Australia Allows Coal Miners to Jointly Seek Rail, Port Access
From Economic Times
Australia will allow several coal companies to collectively negotiate for access to rail and port infrastructure for exports, the country’s competition regulator said on Thursday.
Australia is already the world’s largest exporter of coking coal used for steelmaking and the second largest exporter of thermal coal used for power generation, but producers have had difficulty securing the export capacity they need.
Endocoal, Whitehaven Coal, Yancoal Australia, QC Resource Investments and Linc Energy
can bargain for access to Aurizon Holdings’ rail and India’s Adani Enterprises’ new coal terminal at Dudgeon Point in Queensland state, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said.
“This decision allows coal miners to conduct more timely and efficient negotiations to secure terminal and rail capacity, which is likely to reduce the risk of unnecessary delays in the construction of this (coal) terminal and coal export growth,” the ACCC Commissioner Joe Dimasi said in a statement.
The collective bargaining provision would last until April 5, 2028 to cover initial contract negotiations and subsequent long term contracts.
The rail and the Dudgeon Point port are part of several new infrastructure proposals that would expand Australia’s export capacity. Adani’s proposed Dudgeon Point coal terminals will cost an estimated $10-$12 billion and be adjacent to the current Hay Point coal port.
Earlier this week, Aurizon Holdings Ltd said it would partner GVK Hancock — a joint venture between Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Coal and India’s GVK Power — to develop rail and port infrastructure with a capacity to handle 60 million tonnes per year in the undeveloped Galilee coal basin, also in Queensland.
