Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), through investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), a private infrastructure investment platform within MSIM, has announced it has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Onslow Iron Road Trust (Road Trust) in partnership with Mineral Resources Ltd (Mineral Resources), which will continue to own a 51% stake.
Mineral Resources, a diversified natural resources company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is the manager and majority owner of the Onslow Iron ore project (Onslow Iron) located in the northwest Pilbara region of Western Australia. Onslow Iron has commenced ore production and is expected to ramp up to nameplate capacity of 35 million tpy by June 2025.
As part of delivering the pit-to-port solution for Onslow Iron, Mineral Resources built an approximately 150 km private haul road from the Onslow mine to Ashburton Port. Serving as the only corridor for Onslow Iron’s deposits, Road Trust owns a critical transportation infrastructure asset that will assist in unlocking material iron ore deposits previously stranded in the West Pilbara.
“We are pleased to partner with Mineral Resources as part of the Onslow Iron project and value its long-term track record of project execution,” said Tim Cooper, Managing Director for MSIP. “We are proud to be co-stewards of an asset we believe will deliver an attractive, inflation-protected cash yield, backed by significant barriers to entry and attractive underlying economics.”
Onslow Iron Road Trust (Road Trust) is the owner of an approximately 150 km private haul road from the Onslow Iron ore project to Ashburton Port in the northwest Pilbara region of Western Australia. Road Trust is co-controlled and managed by Mineral Resources, the majority owner of Onslow Iron. Road Trust is a critical, transportation infrastructure asset serving as the only corridor for Onslow Iron’s deposits. Road Trust will be supported by Mineral Resources’ 30+ year track record of delivering leading mining supply chain solutions for tier-one global mining companies.
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