Murchison Metals

Delivering world-class iron ore mining and infrastructure assets to unlock Western Australia’s rich mid-west.

Crosslands

Crosslands Resources' Jack Hills Project is located 380 kilometres north-east of Geraldton in the mid west region of Western Australia.  The Jack Hills Project was previously explored in the 1970s which identified the potential for a number of deposits of high grade hematite ore.  The project tenements contain a number of potential ore bodies characterised by high iron content direct shipping ores (DSO) which have low phosphorus, aluminium/silica and sulphur, and lower grade banded iron ores which appear conducive to being upgraded to a high quality iron concentrate.  Both the DSO and concentrate are sought-after commodities in the steel making industry.

Crosslands is employing a two stage strategy to develop the project :
Stage 1 operations utilise contract mining, crushing and screening.  Iron ore is transported to Geraldton by contract road haulage to iron ore storage and transfer facilities at the Port of Geraldton, ahead of shipment to customers.
Stage 2 of the development is the mine expansion project which is targeting a substantial expansion of annual production capacity contingent on the development of transport infrastructure  including a heavy haulage railway and deep water port at Oakajee.

Oakajee Port and Rail

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.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.opandr.com

Rocklea

In April 2008, Murchison Metals Ltd (Murchison) made its first foray into the Pilbara with the acquisition of a 100% interest in the Rocklea iron ore project, located 50km northwest of Paraburdoo and 30km west of Tom Price, in close proximity to both existing and planned rail infrastructure.

An initial drilling campaign in late 2008 identified the mineralised part of the channel in the eastern parts of the project area and allowed the estimation of a maiden Mineral Resource.  Follow up drilling in 2009 refined this estimate and also collected large diameter core for metallurgical test work.  A scoping study commenced in the second half of 2009 drawing upon this data and the experience of a multi-discipline team of consultants to consider the mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors in the project's development.

Ken Scott-Mackenzie
Chairman

Currently the Chairman of major ASX-listed mining and civil contractor Macmahon Holdings Ltd and a Non Executive Director of construction materials producer Adelaide Brighton Ltd, Mr Scott-Mackenzie has 36 years experience in the engineering, mining and construction sectors in Australia and overseas. A qualified mining engineer and lawyer, Mr Scott-Mackenzie spent 12 years as a senior executive of major Australian infrastructure developer Abigroup, including two years as CEO after its takeover by German group Bilfinger Berger AG.

Before retiring in 2009, Mr Scott-Mackenzie was for four years the inaugural CEO of Bilfinger Berger Australia Pty Ltd, which was established to consolidate all of Bilfinger’s Australian businesses, Abigroup, Baulderstone and Bilfinger Berger Services. Prior to joining Abigroup, he spent 12 years in various roles with South African mining and construction group Murray & Roberts.


Greg Martin
Managing Director

Mr Martin has 30 years experience in the energy, utility and infrastructure sectors. Mr Martin is currently Chairman of Grant Samuel Infrastructure Partners and a Non-Executive Director of major Australian oil and gas producer Santos Ltd as well as the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Mr Martin spent 25 years with The Australian Gas Light Company Ltd (“AGL”), one of Australia’s oldest and biggest publicly listed downstream energy companies, including five years as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director between 2001 and 2006. After leaving AGL, Mr Martin spent two and a half years as CEO of the infrastructure division of ASX-listed Challenger Financial Services Group, during which time Challenger-backed consortiums led several major international infrastructure acquisitions.


Rodney Baxter
Non-Executive Director

Mr Baxter holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Rhodes University and an MBA from the University of Witwatersrand. He has nearly 20 years experience in the resources sector, most recently as Managing Director of Consolidated Minerals where he presided over the strategic transformation and ultimate sale of the company. Prior to Consolidated Minerals, Mr Baxter enjoyed a near 10 year career at Anglo American and Anglo Platinum in various senior executive and business development roles.


James McClements
Non-Executive Director

Mr McClements holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Western Australia . He has extensive experience in the resources industry and is the co-founder and Managing Partner of the highly successful Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a group of funds that invests in development and growth stage mining companies.

Prior to founding RCF, Mr McClements held senior positions with N.M. Rothschild & Sons in Denver and was responsible for North American resource banking. For four years prior to going to North America he was with Rothschild Australia in Sydney specialising in financing junior mining companies and other natural resource lending.

His background also includes work with Standard Chartered Bank Australia and BHP.


Sun Moon Woo
Non Executive Director

Mr Woo holds a Masters degree in Mining Engineering. He joined POSCO in 1983 and has worked in the Raw Material Purchasing Division and Investment Division for 24 years. He has extensive experience in the natural resources industry and has managed POSCO investments in iron ore and coal projects globally including Australia and Brazil . Mr Woo is currently Managing Director of POSCO Australia Pty Ltd which is a 100% subsidiary of POSCO.


Peter Wasow
Non Executive Director

Mr Wasow spent nine years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of major Australian oil and gas producer Santos Ltd before stepping down in December 2010. During that time, Mr Wasow led acquisitions with a value of more than $1 billion, including the purchase of Santos’ extensive coal seam gas interests which now underpin its LNG growth strategy. Mr Wasow also led Santos in financing initiatives totaling more than $17 billion, including $9 billion to fund its share of major new LNG developments in Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

Prior to joining Santos, Mr Wasow held a number of senior executive positions with BHP Co Ltd over a period of 23 years, including two years as Vice President Finance and as a member of BHP’s Management Committee prior to the group’s $57 billion merger with Billiton Plc in 2001


Samantha Tough
Non Executive Director

Ms Tough is a professional Non Executive Director with two decades of corporate experience, primarily in the WA natural resources sector. Ms Tough spent five years as a senior executive with leading Australian energy group Woodside Energy Ltd, including four years as General Manager of the North West Shelf project, Australia’s largest operating resources development. After leaving Woodside in 2005, Ms Tough was Director of Strategy at ASX-listed oil producer Hardman Resources prior to its takeover by UK-based Tullow Oil Plc.

Ms Tough has also held numerous senior advisory roles, including Senior Vice President, Strategic Counsel Natural Resources for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Ms Tough is currently Chairman of ASX-listed explorer Southern Cross Goldfields Ltd, Chairman of structural engineering group Structerre Pty Ltd, and Chairman of RemCo Ltd, the retail market operator of the retail gas market in Western Australia.