Project Iron Boomerang

Project Iron Boomerang is a proposal, originated in 2006, to build a multi-user rail corridor spanning northern Australia and to facilitate placement of five steel-making plants at each end, owned and operated by steel mill companies. A key element of its projected feasibility was based on elimination of inefficient, unproductive and environmentally damaging empty return train-loads.[1][2][3] The termini of the railway line were projected to be Newman, Western Australia and Abbot Point, Queensland, about 3000 km (1860 mi) apart.[3][4]

Proposed route of the railway at the heart of Project Iron Boomerang

The proponents, East West Line Parks Pty Ltd,[5] were reported in 2011 as having completed feasibility and route alignment studies, and having begun acquisition of land.[6]

In 2019, the company reported to a mining and metallurgy conference that pre-feasibility and project design phases had been completed; the initial aim of the next stage was to obtain commitment of engagement from at least three global steel companies before completing an environmental impact statement and obtaining government approvals. The company's schedule anticipated that design and construction of the railway would be completed, and steel production would commence, in 2025.[1]

In 2020, the push for Project Iron Boomerang increased, as media outlets began to publish articles outlining its economic feasibility and potential benefits for the nation.[7]