UPDATE: QR National, Asciano Sign Coal Haulage Deals With Rio

Rail operators QR National Ltd. (QRN.AU) and Asciano Ltd. (AIO.AU) Thursday signed new 10-year deals to haul millions of tons of coal for Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) from its mines in Australia's Queensland state.

In statements to the Australian Securities Exchange, QR National said it would haul three million metric tons per year from Rio Tinto's Blair Athol/Clermont operations, while Asciano will move a combined 8.5 million tons from the miner's Hail Creek and Kestral mines, all located in Queensland's coal-rich Bowen Basin.

Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of coal, with the Bowen Basin accounting for close to 60% of global supplies by sea of the steelmaking form of the commodity. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), Rio Tinto PLC (RIO), Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) and others continue to ramp up production of coking coal to feed Chinese steel mills.

Asciano's deal is in addition to existing haulage contracts with Rio Tinto.

The company said in a statement that the new contract starts in November 2013, and will see coal hauled to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal near the central Queensland coastal town of Mackay.

QR National, Australia's largest rail freight company, said in a statement that its contract leverages its 1.1 billion Australian dollar (US$1.1 billion) Goonyella to Abbot Point expansion project.

-By Gavin Lower, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]