IRON ORE

The Hon. L.R. BREUER (Giles) (15:05): My question is to the Premier, following on from his ministerial statement earlier today about the benefits of growth in our mining and energy industries. Premier, can you update the house on today's significant step to unlocking the iron ore potential of South Australia's Mid North?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (15:06): It is quite appropriate that the member for Giles asks this question, that electorate being the home of really the first iron ore development in this nation and a very substantial part of South Australia's and indeed the nation's economic history. Once again, iron ore is proving to be one of the exciting prospects for South Australia's economic future.

This government has entered partnerships with industry and the community to foster the development of our state's diverse resources sector. It is the key element that the South Australian government brings to the table—that is, sponsoring these partnerships—that has brought together businesses of different types with different capabilities and capacities with the support of the community to actually unlock these resources.

We have gone from four mines to 21 and the mineral and resources production has reached the second highest level on record in 2012 at $6.2 billion. For some time, the Braemar province in the Mid North of this state has been the subject of keen exploration. Unlocking the iron ore potential of this province is now one step closer, following an agreement today between Royal Resources Limited and Braemar Infrastructure.

Royal Resources and Braemar Infrastructure have announced an agreement that puts Royal Resources on a path to becoming a foundation customer for the Braemar bulk export project in the iron ore-rich Braemar province, east of Peterborough. This is fantastic news for the people of Peterborough. I know this is a town that is doing it tough, and that whole region needs precisely this sort of investment.

What we have here is the coming together of an infrastructure company that is going to run a line of infrastructure from the New South Wales border all the way through to the Yorke Peninsula just above Wallaroo and bring essentially a service line of water, electricity, transport infrastructure and a slurry pipe to transport the ore from the mine site to an innovative new floating platform to take this ore off to the overseas markets. It is an incredibly exciting prospect.

The iron ore in the Braemar province is rated as amongst the highest quality in the nation, so much so that they are seeking to brand it as Braemar iron ore, so that because of its reliability and its quality, it will actually attract a premium and will also attract overseas Chinese investors in particular.

If successful, the project will create 2,500 jobs from the port to the mine site and add a significant boost to the economic fortunes of the state's Mid North. Royal Resources understands its responsibilities as a corporate citizen, so they are already, in a sense, investing in the community. They know they need a social licence as well as a formal regulatory licence, so they are working with the people already in some of these regions who sorely need the work.

Royal Resources, through its Razorback premium iron project, now controls 418 million tonnes of magnetite ore, capable of sustaining production of 8.5 million tonnes a year for the next half a century. As a foundation customer, Royal Resources has given Braemar Infrastructure the confidence it needs to push ahead with its investment in a multi-user facility.

So, it will not just unlock Royal Resources; it will unlock Havilah's resources and Minotaur's resources, and that is just south of the rail line. There is north of the rail line, and there are many opportunities that will open up. Today's announcement follows the decision today to declare the Braemar Infrastructure Pty Ltd's bulk export project a major development. The infrastructure corridor will not only unlock the opportunities of this region but also allow us, I think, to realise our ambition to be not only a mining producer but also a mining services hub for the nation.