Miners interested in share of coal port

It would be a logical move, since it has been the mining companies themselves who have become frustrated with the bottlenecks at the northern Queensland port of Dalrymple Bay, resulting in a push for expansion.

The port has a present capacity of 68 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) which has just got the go-ahead for a $639m expansion which should up capacity to 85 mtpa to meet increasing demand from the coal producers.

Babcock & Brown Infrastructure (part of the troubled Babcock & Brown bank) was originally looking to sell a 30-49% stake, partly to help settle debts and partly to expand the ports capacity. However, Macarthur (who are possibly fronting a consortium of miners wishing to move into the port) may well be looking for a larger stake than originally on the table.