The $49b Project Iron Boomerang will involve 3300km of rail linking Bowen in north Queensland to Port Hedland in Western Australia.
This will include the railway corridor, railway, rolling stock and industrial land for the line, making it the biggest infrastructure project since the Snowing Mountains Scheme.
Steel manufacturers from all over the world will then be able to build their own steel-making plants in industrial parks located at either end of the line. The industrial parks would each house up to six steel plants.
According to Condon, the steel-makers will build and own their own blast furnaces, because the project will just provide them with the plot of the land. The six plants will share one power station, one coke oven, and one holding yard for cost savings.
The scheme is touted as an improvement and simplification of the steel-making system. Currently, tankers transport iron ore from the west and coal from the east coast of Australia to plants scattered across the globe, then return filled with sea water to keep them stable.
This is effectively a waste of 45% of the fuel used for each round trip. By making steel in Australia, and then exporting the slab steel, smaller ships can be used, which can then take shortcuts through the Suez and Panama canals, making for decreased fuel use.
By having six steel mills at either side of the Australian continent, rail can transport coking coal from Queensland to the west, and backload iron ore back to Queensland.
Condon further claims his scheme could save emissions. Currently, the plans are calculated to save 8.7m tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, with more on the way.
Seventeen global steelmakers have already signed confidentiality agreements which allow them to access further details. The project is said to have the backing of major financial institutions, world steelmakers and leading consultants.