Under the agreement with Karara Mining Limited (KML), QR National will
carry up to 10 million tonnes of magnetite concentrate and hematite per
year from the mine to the export terminal at Geraldton, 400km north of
Perth. The deal will generate revenues of around $A 900m ($US 955m) for
QR National over the duration of the contract, and the operator will
invest more than $A 200m in new locomotives, wagons and upgraded
administration and maintenance facilities at Narngulu East near
Geraldton.

The initial $A 2bn phase of the mine includes the construction of an
80km line from Karara to Morawa, where iron ore trains will join the
existing WestNet Rail line from Northam to Mullewa and Geraldton. The
line between Morawa and Geraldton has been upgraded to accommodate
future traffic growth as output from the mine increases. The first
revenue trains will run next January and by May 2012, QR National will
operate four trains per day from Kerara to Geraldton, each comprising
100 wagons.

KML is a 50:50 joint venture between Australian iron-ore producer Gindalbie Metals and Chinese steel manufacturer AnSteel.