Australia-based miner Atlas Iron Limited has announced that it has reached an agreement with major domestic coal haulage firm QR National to conduct a feasibility study regarding its planned A$3.5 billion independent railway project in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
The proposed railway project will connect iron ore deposits owned by Atlas and other companies in east and southeast Pilbara to Port Hedland. The study is expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year, with first haulage scheduled for as early as 2015.
Atlas intends to use the rail haulage as part of its strategy to increase its annual output from 15 million mt to as much as 46 million mt, enabling the company to take full advantage of its highly valuable Port Hedland port capacity.