Oakajee Port and Rail was established in September 2007 to deliver a world class multi-user deepwater port at Oakajee, north of Geraldton, and an associated open access railway to service a number of mid-west iron ore projects currently under development including the Jack Hills project owned by Crosslands.

In July 2008, the State Government announced OPR as the preferred proponent for the development of the new Oakajee deepwater port, on the basis of a detailed bid deemed to be superior to a competing bid across all criteria.

The newly elected Premier, Colin Barnett announced in October 2008 that the State Government would contribute $339 million towards the development of the multi-user port and would seek a matching commitment from the Federal Government.

Following detailed negotiations, a State Development Agreement (SDA) was signed between the WA Government, OPR, Murchison and Mitsubishi in March 2009. The SDA represents a key milestone in the development of the project and marks an important step in cementing Murchison's role as the key strategic player in the mid-west region of Western Australia.

The key terms of the SDA were:

• the appointment of OPR on an exclusive basis, as the infrastructure provider to design and construct an open access port and railway linking the port with mining tenements at Weld Range and Jack Hills in the mid-west region of WA;
• the provision of State and/or Federal Government funding for common-use infrastructure at the Oakajee port including the channel and breakwater;
• agreement by OPR to use reasonable endeavours to secure the involvement of private or state-owned Chinese companies in the project through the provision of rail cars, fabricated structural steel, engineering and construction services and debt financing.

In the 2009-2010 Federal Budget announced in May, the Federal Government also confirmed a commitment of $339 million towards the Oakajee port common user infrastructure, matching the State Government's funding.

Following the signing of the SDA, discussions have continued with regional miners with a view to determining their tonnage and timing requirements for the integrated port and rail system. This process is designed to guide planning of the most efficient and coordinated supply chain for the region.

Murchison expects to generate significant direct benefits as OPR's business develops and additional customers sign up to use OPR's port and rail services .

http://www.opandr.com

Recent ASX Announcements:

21 May 10 - WA Government Allocates Funding for Oakajee Port

30 Mar 10 - OPR delivers draft Bankable Feasibility Study

16 Feb 10 - OPR confirms high demand for Oakajee Port capacity