Australian strategic metals company TNG has entered into a binding heads of agreement (HoA) with railroad owner and operator Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA), for the provision of rail haulage services for its flagship 100%-owned Mt Peake vanadium/titanium/iron project, located 235 km north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

The scope of services includes the loading of magnetite concentrate onto rail at the Adnera rail siding proposed to be located 85 km from the mine site, rail haulage from Adnera to the TIVAN Facility in Darwin on the Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line, and the unloading of magnetite concentrate at the TIVAN Facility.

The company reported that GWA will also load and transport TNG’s final products from the TIVAN Facility to the Darwin port.

In addition, GWA will provide all necessary rail transport plant and equipment, including locomotives, wagons, crew vans and fuelling equipment.

Following execution of the HoA, TNG and GWA will work together on an exclusive basis, and commit the necessary resources to develop and optimise the rail haulage strategy for Mt Peake, and negotiate and finalise a rail haulage agreement.

Moreover, both TNG CEO Paul Burton and GWA CEO Luke Anderson say the companies are delighted to work together.

Burton says the company views the signing of this strategic agreement with GWA as the cornerstone of its logistics chain for the Mt Peake project, marking another important step in its multipronged development strategy.

Meanwhile, GWA has extensive experience in the transport of bulk commodities for the resources industry, and is the majority owner of the rail line to Darwin that runs about 1 100 km from the Mt Peake mine site.

Further, rail haulage will underpin the logistics chain transporting the magnetite concentrate to be produced by the proposed beneficiation plant at the Mt Peake mine site to the proposed TIVAN Facility in Darwin, where TNG intends to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide, titanium pigment and iron-ore fines.