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- Iron Road (IRD) has signed on Macquarie Capital as a joint developer of the Cape Hardy Port Facility in the Eyre Peninsula
- The Iron Road and Eyre Peninsula Co-operative Bulk Handling (EPCBH) is also party to the joint development agreement
- Macquarie will also provide financial advisory services for the proposed $250 million stage-one, multi-user, multi-commodity port facility
- Iron Road is targeting financial close on the development by the third quarter of the 2021 financial year and the commencement of operations in 2023
- Macquarie will be issued 40 million Iron Road options with vesting contingent on financial close and the achievement of commercial operations at Cape Hardy
- Iron Road shares closed 50 per cent higher at 16.5 cents
Iron Road (IRD) has signed on Macquarie Capital as a joint developer of the Cape Hardy Port Facility in the Eyre Peninsula.
The Iron Road and Eyre Peninsula Co-operative Bulk Handling (EPCBH), a group formed over three years ago by prominent Eyre Peninsula farmers, is also party to the joint development agreement.
Macquarie will also provide financial advisory services for the proposed $250 million stage-one, multi-user, multi-commodity port facility.
Iron Road CEO Larry Ingle said the joint development agreement represents a significant step in de-risking the Cape Hardy project.
“Iron Road has been working closely with key stakeholders on the Cape Hardy port development since 2012 as part of the wider Central Eyre Iron Project. We are pleased that Macquarie Capital shares our vision of the near-term benefits and future opportunities this vital infrastructure unlocks for Eyre Peninsula communities.”
Iron Road retains the right to hold up to 25 per cent of the Cape Hardy at financial close, which it is targeting by the third quarter of the 2021 financial year, and maintains its full ownership of the 1,100-hectare port site and its Central Eyre Iron Project.
EPCBH CEO Tim Scholz said the cooperative is delighted by Macquarie’s backing of the project which will afford considerable benefits to its farms.
“The Cape Hardy development will deliver direct benefits to farmers through creating much-needed supply chain competition and transport cost savings to the Eyre Peninsula grain industry.”
“Importantly, the joint development agreement has a clear objective that farmers will be significant shareholders in the facility in what will be the first opportunity for Eyre Peninsula grain growers to have an equity stake in infrastructure since the 2008 deregulation of Australia’s wheat trade,” he added.
Macquarie Capital Division Director Andrew Newman described the project as of notable economic significance and benefit to producers in many sectors.
“Cape Hardy is a project of national economic significance and competitive advantage, with a strong proposition for grain farmers and the potential to unlock significant future economic activity,” Andrew stated.
“A deep-water port would support producers across the State, and Cape Hardy is ideally situated to house a multi-commodity port that could be accessed by agricultural and resources producers alike,” he continued.
Macquarie will be issued 40 million Iron Road options, under a second agreement, with vesting contingent on financial close and the achievement of commercial operations at Cape Hardy.
The options are exercisable at 7.5 cents and will expire two years from the commencement of commercial operations.
Iron Road has also granted Macquarie the right to subscribe for up to 20 per cent of any share placement for a year after financial close.
Iron Road shares closed 50 per cent higher at 16.5 cents
