That’s why AGDC signed the agreement with AIP for $450,000. The two companies partnering on the project are Macquarie Capital, a division of Macquarie Group that is focused on financing development and infrastructure projects, and Martinus, a global rail developer.
Expect the predevelopment process to move swiftly. AIP plans to reach the end of its first phase of predevelopment assessment—establishing a baseline understanding of what needs to be completed, identifying users, and creating a business case for the project—by February 20.
At that point, Geoff Segal, senior vice president of Macquarie Capital says, the state can determine whether the project should move forward to the next phase or not. Segal told stakeholders and interested parties at a January 7 presentation that a decision is targeted for April 3. At that point, the focus will shift to solidifying the financial aspects and reaching agreement with potential users. If that can happen by July, the focus shifts to “the goal of closing at the end of this year, to push a shovel in the ground next year,” Segal said.
AGDC President Frank Richards says the corporation, which retains 25-percent ownership alongside Glenfarne Group’s majority stake in the Alaska LNG pipeline, signed the agreement with AIP because of the rail extension’s potential value for the Alaska LNG project. He notes that the rail extension to Port MacKenzie is not limited to shipping pipeline materials, however.
“We have unique flexibility under enabling statues to enter into public-private contracts and coordinate project development on behalf of key state, Alaska, and [Mat-Su] Borough stakeholders who want to move forward on the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension Project,” Richards explained during the January 7 presentation.
Richards later clarified, “It’s beyond just the Alaska LNG project. The AIP partners want to get an understanding of the future [of the rail extension], beyond the pipeline.”
Mining companies are likely to be part of that larger group of end users, Mat-Su Borough Port Director Dave Griffin says. For years, the borough has touted the rail extension as a factor that could make opening a limestone mine in the Interior economically feasible, or it could boost other mining projects into the “profitable” zone. Now, he says, the options seem closer to reality. Nova Minerals, which is developing West Susitna properties, is looking at the port as a site for its mineral processing facility, where ore from the company’s antimony mine could be crushed and concentrated before shipping.
“If Nova establishes a mineral processing facility at Port Mac near the rail, then anyone north who has antimony, like old gold mines, could move it down to the port for processing,” Griffin says. “If Alaska is going to develop its resources, and you’ve got President Trump writing executive orders about unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential… where is that going to get to market? All roads lead to Port MacKenzie.”
