Mineral Resources (MinRes) has finalised the $1.3 billion sale of a 49 per cent interest in the Onslow Iron haul road (Haul Road) to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.
The transaction was completed on September 24 when MinRes received $1.1 billion in upfront cash consideration from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.
The remaining $200 million payment is subject to the Onslow Iron haul road achieving a 35 million wet metric tonnes per annum run rate for any quarter before June 30 2026.
Under the Onslow Iron haul road partnership, MinRes holds majority ownership and exclusive rights to use, operate and maintain the haul road. The major miner also holds majority exposure to the stable earnings the haul road will deliver over Onslow Iron’s mine life.
“I’m pleased to officially welcome MSIP (Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners) as a partner in the Onslow Iron project,” MinRes managing director Chris Ellison said.
“This partnership is yet another strong endorsement of Onslow Iron’s world-class credentials and showcases MinRes’ ability to unlock significant capital from our portfolio of assets.”
Onslow Iron product is transported by autonomous road trains fitted with autonomous haulage technology developed by Hexagon.
The autonomous road trains carry Onslow Iron product along the 150km dedicated fenced and sealed haulage road, which is the shortest pit-to-port distance in the Australian mining industry.
The Onslow haul road links the Ken’s Bore mine site to the Port of Ashburton, where Onslow Iron product is shipped via an initial fleet of five fully enclosed transhippers being loaded onto capesize vessels anchored 40km off the port.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners managing director Tim Cooper said the company pleased to be in partnership with MinRes and Onslow Iron.
“(We) are proud to be the co-steward of the Onslow Iron haul road, a critical transportation infrastructure asset in the west Pilbara,” Cooper said.
“We value MinRes’ exceptional operatorship and are excited to explore further opportunities to deepen our partnership.”
Onslow Iron is on track for operational completion by October 2024, with MinRes anticipating cash flow positive operations from the same month.
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