OCEANIA

South Australian ports come under fire

20 years ago

The state of bulk ports in South Australia has copped criticism from a Perth mining company, which says the ” poor standard” of ports has prevented a proposed major iron/copper/gold mining operation near Coober Pedy from securing a reliable export gateway.

For the first half of 2008 overall, the index registered 13.7 days, which compares with the 22.9 days reported 12 months ago.

Goldstream Mining’s Cairn Hill site is 50km east of the Adelaide-Darwin railway line and the company is undertaking a feasibility study into the project. However, a key factor is logistics, and managing director Duncan McBain said the biggest problem is that South Australian ports are all very shallow. A full capesize ship in particular is largely out of the question.