JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The North West Iron Ore Alliance (NWIOA), a group promoting junior iron-ore mining in Western Australia, has named former BP executive Tony Considine as its new CEO.

NWIOA chairperson Ian Campbell described Considine’s appointment as a major coup for the alliance, as it prepares the feasibility study on its Port Hedland development and steps-up negotiations aimed at securing an efficient rail solution for its members.

“Considine’s unique experience gained in leading large scale projects and managing joint ventures, architecting and transforming businesses and improving corporate governance frameworks will bring valuable expertise to the development of the Alliance’s objectives,” he said.

Campbell noted that access to the crucial infrastructure at Port Hedland would open up the Pilbara region of Western Australia to a new generation of iron-ore miners, creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars a year in additional government royalties and export revenue.

The NWIOA member companies – Atlas Iron, Brockman Resources and FerrAus – could deliver 55-million tons of iron-ore a year by 2013, generating some $200-million a year in new State royalties.

The alliance said that Considine had a strong track record delivering results in the mining and petroleum industries around the world, including a successful career with global oil giant BP.

He was the CE of downstream operations for the TNK-BP joint venture in Russia and the Ukraine, developed the case for BP’s acquisition of Burmah Castron and delivered the commercial and economic sections of the feasibility study for the Olympic Dam project with BP Minerals.

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