Adani Mining Partners with Posco for Rail Deal at Carmichael Mine

Adani Mining Pty has signed a binding agreement with POSCO E&C to develop its 388km railway for the Carmichael mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.

The company will give exclusive rights to POSCO E&C to be the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. The deal is estimated to be worth $2.2 billion and will include construction of the railway from the Carmichael mine in the northern part of the Galilee to the already established rail lines in the Bowen Basin.

"This is the first major step towards finalizing the project's construction contracts ... The binding agreement will enable us to develop a cost efficient rail solution,” said Adani CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj.

The rail infrastructure will be capable of transporting 60 million tons of coal per year.

According to Indian billionaire owner Gautam Adani, the project will provide Australia with ample job opportunity and economic benefit.

“The rail project will lead to the opening of the Carmichael mine project, which will deliver in excess of 10,000 jobs, and will also provide vital opportunities for Australian infrastructure development and contribute to energy security of India by lighting the lives of millions of Indians,” said Indian billionaire owner Gautam Adani.

In addition to building the project, POSCO will help fund the rail line by buying an equity stake in the Carmichael project.

The Carmichael mine is expected to produce 10 billion tons of coal and is considered by many to be the largest single coal tenement in the world. Production of the site is expected in 2017.

Construction of the rail line is expected next year with the company still waiting to gain final federal approval for its massive coal project.