<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Prospective junior miner Brockman Resources has secured a major victory in its Supreme Court battle against railway-owner and iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. </span> <p>Justice James Edelman of the WA Supreme Court last week found that Brockman had made a “valid proposal” to FMG with regards to securing access to the bigger miner’s Pilbara iron ore railway.<br /><br />FMG has been fighting attempts by Brockman to gain access to its railway. It thinks Brockman is relying too heavily on rail access to secure funding from potential investors, and that without such access the junior’s iron ore mines are “uneconomic”.<br /><br />Brockman, meanwhile, agrees that access is crucial in its bid to find a financial partner, but doesn’t see why that should affect whether or not it deserves access in the first place.<br /><br />Colin Paterson, chief executive of Brockman in Australia, told the AFR that “no one is going to stand up and say: ‘Yes, we’ll give you money’ if you haven’t got the access.”<br /><br />FMG chief executive Nev Power, on the other hand, was quoted: “The Pilbara Infarastructure cannot be expected to subsidise third party projects that are uneconomic.”<br /><br />Justice Edelman’s decision, handed down last Friday, moves Brockman closer to securing that access by validating its initial proposal to Fortescue, but the major miner has said it will appeal the decision.<br /><br />“Brockman will now take the necessary next steps under the Access Code in order to obtain an access agreement, including making submissions to [FMG’s infrastructure business] The Pilbara Infrastructure regarding Brockman’s managerial and financial capability, and the availability of railway capacity to accommodate Brockman’s railway access requirements,” the company said in a statement.<br /><br />Along with fighting for access to FMG’s rail lines, Brockman has been working with Queensland-based rail company Aurizon to investigate the construction of a new railway for Brockman’s mines.<br /><br />But Aurizon’s recent acquisition of iron ore assets with Chinese steelmaker Baosteel, and the rail provider’s subsequent deal to develop a rail plan for the projects, dampens Brockman’s chances of striking a deal of its own with Aurizon regarding a new mining railway.<br /><br />The Supreme Court decision, therefore, is a positive one for Brockman.<br /><br />“This favourable decision is a significant step forward for Brockman in its bid to commercialise its East Pilbara projects,” the company said.<br /><br />“Further, this decision has provided greater clarity as to the interpretation and operation of the Access Code and this will greatly assist future access seekers in their bid to gain genuine market rail access and/or haulage rates enabling them to commercialise their projects.”</p>
