Oakajee Port

Oakajee Port is a proposed deep water port to be built in the Mid West region of Western Australia, 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Geraldton, to service the region's growing iron ore industry.

History

Between 1879 and 1957, Oakagee was a siding and locality on the Northampton railway line.[1] The site was first considered as a port and railway terminus in the 1980s.[2]

Opposition to the project from local residents centred on environmental concerns, especially in relation to nearby Coronation Beach.[3]

Advocacy for the project was from a partnership known as Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance, which included miners Mount Gibson Iron, Midwest Corporation, Murchison Metals, Gindalbie Metals, Golden West Resources, Royal Resources, Asia Iron Holdings and Atlas Iron.[4]

An alternative project considered by the government was to deepen and enlarge the existing Geraldton Port. However, environmental factors associated with the proposal being relatively close to Geraldton militated against it.

Including an associated rail project, the project was estimated to cost about $4 billion. The port was to have an initial capacity of 45 million tonnes of iron ore annually. Construction was expected to start in 2011, with completion possible by 2014.[5]

In 2012, media speculation about cancellation of the project increased with announcements of delays and cutbacks.[6][7] However, the premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett, stated his desire to facilitate conciliation between the parties.[8]

In June 2013, Mitsubishi Corporation announced that work was to be suspended work until an investment partner could be found.[9] As of November 2014 the project was mothballed.[10]

In November 2019, Sinosteel purchased Mitsubishi's shareholding.[11] In January 2022, Fortescue Metals Group announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Sinosteel to investigate the feasibility of reviving the project.[12][13]

Location

The port and facilities were to be constructed within approximately 6,400 hectares (16,000 acres) of land owned by the state government. The property had been used as farmland but 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) was zoned for heavy industrial and 200 hectares (490 acres) zoned for support industries.[2]

It is bordered approximately by the Buller River to the south, Coronation Beach Road to the north, and the Moresby Ranges to the east.

Railway

The port was intended to be served by a 570 kilometre standard gauge railway line. To facilitate this Brookfield Rail rebuilt part of the existing narrow gauge line with dual gauge sleepers.[14][15]

References
  1. "Military Camp at Oakagee". Geraldton Guardian. WA: National Library of Australia. 26 October 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  2. "Oakajee Deep Water Port, Industrial Estate and Murchison Rail Link". Mid West Development Commission. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  3. Coronation Beach between Drummond Cove and Horrocks see page 69 Murray, Ian; Hercock, Marion; Murray, Ian; Hercock, Marion (2008), Where on the coast is that?, Hesperian Press, ISBN 978-0-85905-452-2
  4. "About us". Gioa.com.au. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  5. "Oakajee Port and Rail to build new Mid-West iron ore port". Premier of Western Australia. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  6. "OPR going to be harder to get up and running". ABC News. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  7. "WA's Oakajee Port and Rail project scaled back". Abc.net.au. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  8. "Business | Sky News Australia | Sky News Australia". Skynews.com.au. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  9. "Oakajee Project Status - Department of State Development". Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  10. "Traditional owners reach agreement on Mid West mine after five years". Abc.net.au. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  11. Sinsoteel acquires stake in Oakajee Port and Railway Project in Western Australia Shanghai Metals Market 3 January 2020
  12. Fortescue looks at Sinosteel's Midwest and Oakajee projects Mining Weekly 21 January 2022
  13. Fortsecue Metals Group joins pursuit of Oakajee mine and port vision The West Australian 21 January 2022
  14. Brookfield Rail transforming MidWest rail infrastructure Rail Express 27 June 2012
  15. Mixed fortunes for Western Australian rail projects International Railway Journal 16 November 2012

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