Solid Energy and Toll NZ sign Heads of Agreement

Solid Energy and Toll NZ sign Heads of Agreement

Auckland, New Zealand –Toll NZ Limited [NZSX: TRH]

Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd and Toll NZ today announced they had signed a joint Heads of Agreement relating to the transport of coal from the West Coast of the South Island to the Port of Lyttleton.

The 13-year agreement will allow Solid Energy to move up to 3.8 million tonnes of coal per annum from 2007/08. Over the current year 2.4 tonnes will be moved, with up to 2.7 million tonnes in 2005/06. The increase in tonnage will eventually see the current seven trains a day between the West Coast and the Port increased to eight. The two companies are committed to working with New Zealand Railways Corporation in the investment to address increasing the capacity and reliability of the line.

The agreement also provides a framework for future potential agreements for the transport of Solid Energy coal on other parts of the rail network including carrying coal to the West Coast ports of Westport and Greymouth.

Solid Energy Chief Executive Officer, Dr Don Elder, said that the company was extremely pleased to have agreed terms with Toll and had developed a very positive relationship with the rail operator over the last year.

“The agreement is a significant milestone as it secures the future of our export coal business through the Port of Lyttleton and allows us to maintain our competitiveness in international markets,” Dr Elder says. “It gives us the confidence and capacity to achieve increased production volumes from our current and planned mines around the Greymouth and Buller areas of the West Coast. We look forward to using this capacity in the near future.”

Toll NZ Chief Executive Officer David Jackson says the relationship between Solid Energy and Toll is extremely important to both parties and through a very co-operative and open approach we have been able to reach an agreement, which is important for both companies and the rail industry in general.

Mr Jackson describes the agreement as having a very strong foundation, which creates transparency and a new environment to enable Toll NZ to deliver an extremely important export volume for New Zealand.

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