China Railway backs project to mine cleaner iron ore

Melbourne

CHINESE engineers who carved a railway through the Tibetan plateau and built the world's longest sea-bridge across Hangzhou Bay have a new challenge: developing a US$3.4 billion project on Australia's remote Eyre Peninsula to meet increased demand for cleaner iron ore.

China Railway Group Ltd, the world's second-largest infrastructure builder, is backing the mine, port and rail-road project that aims to supply high-quality, lower-emission ore to Chinese steel mills facing stricter environmental rules.

The project would be a major step towards South Australia's goal of securing A$10 billion (S$10.8 billion) of investments to fund a stable of new iron ore mines by 2021. China…