Iron ore miner Linecrest inks railway deal to Darwin

Railway operator Aurizon has secured a new NT freight deal as it diversifies away from coal. See what it is.

Alice Springs to Darwin railway operator Aurizon has signed a 30-month contract to freight iron ore from the Frances Creek mine to Port Darwin.

The two year agreement, announced at Aurizon’s half-yearly report release, is part of Aurizon’s strategy to increase business and freight movements on the NT line into Darwin.

Frances Creek is an on-again, off-again iron-ore mine near Pine Creek about 160km south of Darwin that was turned back on again in 2020 when NT Bullion bought the deposit from Gold Valley Holdings in 2020.

Frances Creek was first mined from 1967 to 1974 and again from 2007 to 2014 before NT Bullion subsidiary Linecrest Pty Ltd exported the first iron ore shipment from stockpiles at Frances Creek in 2021.

Linecrest iron ore being loaded onto an Aurizon freight car at Union Reef siding

Linecrest’s contract with Aurizon formalises the mine owner’s plans to reactivate the mine by beneficiating iron ore stockpiles using automated ore sorting technology.

Aurizon said it had begun the initial freight run of iron ore from Union Reef siding, about 250km south of Darwin.

Under the Two-and-a-half-year contract, Aurizon will transport up to one million tonnes of iron ore annually.

Aurizon has been trying to grow its Territory business since finalising its $2.35bn purchase of the Tarcoola to Darwin line from One Rail Australia in late 2021.

Andrew Harding chief executive of Aurizon.

Aurizon chief executive Andrew Harding has been endeavouring to expand Aurizon's freight profile away from primarily coal.

In August last year he signed an agreement with Northern Iron Pty Ltd to ship magnetite iron ore from the Warrego project through Port Darwin in March 2024.

Mr Harding said the company had been investing in upgrades and new stock to support growth across the company.

“Aurizon has continued capital investment in containerised freight and bulk, and expect to spend $250-$300 million dollars this financial year,” Mr Harding said.

“New locomotives, wagons, terminal and port equipment are supporting growth across our existing customer base as well as new contracts.

“Good examples are the two contracts for Northern Iron and Linecrest in the Northern Territory, hauling iron ore for export through Darwin,” he said.

In 2023, Mr Harding announced details of Aurizon’s plan to maximise the Tarcoola to Darwin railway to develop a landbridge between Darwin Port and Asia.

The bullet point summary was created with the assistance of AI technology (PaLM2) then edited and approved for publication by an editor.