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Coal Stockpiles at Queensland Port 'Very Low' on Flood (Update1)
2011-01-04 05:44:22.962 GMT
(Updates with rail line closed in third paragraph.)
By Ben Sharples
Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Coal stockpiles at the export harbor
of Gladstone in Australia's Queensland state are "very low"
after flooding shut the Blackwater rail network that transports
the commodity from mines to the port.
Eighteen ships are outside the harbor waiting to load at
the RG Tanna terminal, Acting Chief Executive Officer Craig
Walker said in an e-mailed statement today. A further 12 are
expected at the port in the next 10 days, Walker said.
The Blackwater rail network, which serves at least 20 mines,
remains closed by the flooding, QR National Ltd. Spokesman Mark
Hairsine said in an e-mailed statement. BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio
Tinto Group and Xstrata Plc are among companies that transport
coal on the line to Gladstone.
The Dawson River will continue to cut the Blackwater line
near Duaringa into next week, Hairsine said. The Moura network,
which also transports the commodity to Gladstone, is due to
start partial operations today, he said.
Gladstone port, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of
the state capital Brisbane, has the capacity to stockpile 6
million metric tons of coal. Stocks have been at about 2.3
million tons for "most of" 2010, Lee McIvor, a spokeswoman,
said by phone today.
For Related News and Information:
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--Editors: John Viljoen, Ryan Woo.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ben Sharples in Melbourne at +61-3-9228-8732 or
bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or
crussell7@bloomberg.net.
