By David Winning
SYDNEY--Aurizon Holdings Ltd. (AZJ.AU) Thursday said it would
increase coal haulage volumes for Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN), the world's
largest coal exporter, in Queensland state by 20% from late next
year following a major contract win.
Aurizon said it would start shipping up to 14.6 million metric
tons of coal annually from Xstrata's Rolleston mine by rail to
export terminals at Gladstone and the new Wiggins Island port from
December 2014. It marks an expansion of Aurizon's existing contract
to haul up to 9.4 million tons of coal from Rolleston.
"Xstrata ran a competitive bidding process for this large-scale
contract for Rolleston, so Aurizon is extremely pleased with this
vote of confidence," Lance Hockridge, Aurizon's chief executive
said in a statement.
Aurizon said the new deal with Xstrata, which will last through
September 2025, would bring its total haulage volumes for the
company in Queensland to more than 31 million tons of coal a
year.
Aurizon, formerly known as QR National Ltd., will invest up to
215 million Australian dollars (US$221.5 million) in new rolling
stock to support the contract.
-By David Winning, Dow Jones Newswires; +61-2-82724688;
david.winning@dowjones.com
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