The Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group (QCIRG), a consortium of Queensland coal miners seeking to takeover the state's railway network, has been given the green light to conduct due diligence on the network, local and international news sources have reported.
According to the reports, an insider said that the access has been approved last week, books have been opened and the discussions are ongoing.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in May, the QCIRG, a group of 13 Australian coal producers, made a joint cash bid of AU$4.85 billion (US$4 billion) for the QR Central Queensland coal track network in the country's biggest coal state.
The members of the group are Anglo American Metallurgical Coal, BHP Billiton, Ensham Resources, Felix Resources, Jellinbah Resources, Macarthur Coal, Peabody Energy, Rio Tinto Coal, Vale Australia, Wesfarmers Resources and Xstrata Coal, who together comprise 98 percent of the Queensland export coal industry. In addition, Aquila Resources and New Hope Coal Australia are supporting parties and have the opportunity to provide equity at a later stage.
The group said that the Queensland state government dropping its plan to sell both the track network and the coal haulage business in an initial public offer is the condition of the offer.
The offer is for the Central Queensland track network, covering four systems and the Goonyella to Abbot Point Expansion, which are used predominantly or exclusively by the coal industry.