Esperance Port delay frustrates miners. Mindax have already started plans to lay off most of its staff and put the company on ice and a lot of others are at or near their 52 week lows.
IRON ore mining companies in the Yilgarn region are frustrated with the delays in selecting a proponent to finance, build and operate the planned Multi-User Iron Ore Facility (MUIOF) at the Esperance port, says the miners' peak industry body. Yilgarn Iron Producers Association (YIPA) chief executive David Utting said the deadline to select a preferred proponent had been missed by the state government. "The decision was due at the end of March," he said. He said it would be difficult for the state government to stick to its timeline of financial closure between Esperance Ports Sea and Land (EPSL) and the successful proponent by June 30.Mr Utting said Yilgarn miners were currently engaged in expensive and complex planning and supply chain analysis and the delay in selecting a MUIOF proponent risked future operations. "These projects risk not going forward it is as serious as it gets," he said. Yilgarn miners are banking on the region becoming the state's third major iron ore province once the necessary port and rail infrastructure is in place.According to YIPA, the expansion of the Yilgarn region would result in a direct investment boost to the WA economy worth up to $550 million initially, with an expected $641 million flow-on effect to industry output. YIPA said it would also directly boost annual demand in the WA economy by $540 million once mining operations commenced.
The Esperance port has been identified as a vital export gateway for iron ore products from the Yilgarn region.
Two consortia have been shortlisted by the state government to construct the MUIOF project at the Esperance port Qube Bulk Pty Ltd-Brookfield Infrastructure (Australia) Pty Ltd and the Yilgarn Esperance Solution (YES) consortium.
While Esperance is the preferred export gateway, Yilgarn miners may have another option in the form of the resuscitated Oakajee port project.
Mr Utting said miners operating in the southern part of the Yilgarn iron province would favour Esperance while northern areas had closer proximity to the potential Oakajee port and Geraldton.
However, he did not believe the Esperance port was at risk of losing export customers to Oakajee, if the stalled $6.5 billion project was successfully revived.
"Esperance is on the cusp of construction while Oakajee is years away," he said.
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