The two mining groups, the world's second and third biggest iron ore producers, have been fighting moves to allow other miners to use their private railways in the Pilbara region in West Australia, where their flagship mines are located.
Both firms had appealed to the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT) earlier decisions by the country's treasurer Wayne Swan to open up rail lines to other users. Iron ore is among the most profitable businesses for both groups. The tribunal ruled that providing third-party access to Rio's Hamersley line was "contrary to the public interest", Rio said in a statement.
Hamersley is Rio's most important railway, linking 10 of its 12 iron ore mines to the coast.
"We are very pleased that the access application over our major Pilbara railway line has been refused," said Sam Walsh, who heads Rio's iron ore unit.
"We have always been strongly of the view that our integrated operations would be severely disrupted if we were required to allow third parties to operate trains on our rail system."
The tribunal allowed access on the less important Robe River line until 2018 rather than for 20 years as rivals had wished.
Iron ore mining is a low-margin, high-cost business, where hundreds of millions of tonnes of material must be dug up and sent to distant ports for shipment to the giant steel-making mills of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
Possible Appeal
BHP said it was considering a possible appeal after the tribunal gave access to its private Goldsworthy railway.
BHP has complained the access will dilute $10 billion in savings stemming from a proposed tie up with the iron ore operations of Rio by keeping the two companies from maximising deliveries.
"It is not in the public interest that our business or customers should be disadvantaged through the increased inefficiencies and costs that will result from other companies operating their trains on our rail lines," BHP'S iron ore division head Ian Ashby said.
The group welcomed a separate ruling blocking access to another of its lines, leading from its Newman mine to the Indian Ocean Port Hedland export terminal.
Rival Fortescue Metals Group has been fighting a 2006 decision not to declare the Newman line open.
Fortescue has for years been seeking access to BHP's Billiton rail lines in the Pilbara, in far northwestern Australia to transport iron ore from its own mine, the as-yet undeveloped Mindy Mindy lode. (Reuters)
