Chinese iron ore trading developer Sinosteel Midwest suspended work on its $2.1bn Australia-based Weld Range iron ore mining project due to uncertainty surrounding the proposed Oakajee port and rail project.


The $5.2bn joint venture between Mitsubishi and Murchison Metals has been inundated by delays recently and Sinosteel, one of the largest investors by a Chinese company in Australian mining, said it will halt the project until certainty surrounding the port development is resolved.
Continuous delays saw the completion date for the port move from its forecast in 2012 to 2015 and have cost an estimated $100m a year, Sinosteel said.


The COO of Sinosteel, Julian Mizera, said: “We are certainly not closing the door on Weld Range, however we must make the right business decisions in order to protect our assets and ensure a realistic future for our organisation.”