Chatham Rock Phosphate is looking to develop a privately run railway to connect its Korella North mine in North-West Queensland to the Port of Karumba.
Expected to cost about $4 billion, the RailPhos project would see construction of the long-mooted Cloncurry to Normanton rail line with an extension to Karumba, the company said.
The Korella North mine, 160km south-east of Mount Isa, is adjacent to the existing Phosphate Hill to Townsville rail line. This would connect at Cloncurry to the new Cloncurry- Karumba rail line.
Chatham Rock Phosphate president and chief executive officer Chris Castle said RailPhos would provide a bulk rail solution for the company’s Korella North and Korella South projects.
It would also enable other phosphate miners to export in bulk via the common-user facility at Karumba, he said.
“RailPhos’s Cloncurry to Karumba rail line is designed to be an all-weather operation to enable export of up to 10 million tonnes per annum of phosphate through a common-use facility in the Port of Karumba,” Mr Castle said.
“Chatham is engaging with potential customers in China/Indonesia, rail construction companies, railway operators, landowners, construction material providers and existing/potential phosphate miners inviting them to participate as potential joint venture partners in RailPhos.”
The company has launched a feasibility study to establish scope, cost and the program for delivery of railway track and rolling stock to build and operate RailPhos.
To enable other miners to use RailPhos, the study will also consider the establishment of bulk rail loading facilities at Mirri (Korella North, Phosphate Hill), Mount Isa and Duchess.
It will investigate government approvals, funding and title requirements for the rail corridor and other assets.
Chatham has been studying the potential to export Korella phosphate through the Port of Karumba rather than Port of Townsville since 2023.
It has been negotiating with Ports North to lease portside land there to enable the export of 200,000 tonnes per annum of lump phosphate from Korella North.
Chatham said that while the Korella North mine was initially designed to sell into the domestic market, the rapidly developing market in China and Vietnam for lump phosphate (for the manufacture of yellow phosphorus) had provided the impetus to export.