Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has hailed Chatham Rock Phosphate’s RailPhos proposal as a bold and long-overdue vision to open up the region’s economic potential.

The Korella North phosphate mine proponent aims to build the long-mooted Cloncurry to Normanton rail line with an extension to Port of Karumba, opening the way to export its product via Panamax-scale bulk carriers.

“We applaud them,” Mr Katter said. “Since my grandfather’s time, which was a long time ago, we have been waiting for a railway line from the North-West to the Gulf.

“They were building it once, but when they struck gold, they stopped at Julia Creek.

“This company is doing what governments have failed to do for over a century – they’re getting on with the job, and I wholeheartedly applaud anyone involved.”

Related: Bulk challenge behind Chatham’s big rail plans

Chatham sees its privately run railway as offering a bulk logistics option for other phosphate miners in the region.

The Cloncurry to Karumba rail line would be designed to be an all-weather operation to enable export of up to 10 million tonnes per annum of phosphate through a common-use facility in the Port of Karumba.

The company has also highlighted its potential to enable the resurrection of magnetite exports from North-West Queensland.

With graphite projects gaining momentum, Chatham Rock Phosphate executive director Colin Randall also noted the location of two key deposits adjacent to the proposed RailPhos route – Mount Dromedary and Burke.

This provided a ready opportunity for efficient rail transport of graphite either for export through Karumba or to a battery plant in Townsville, he said.

“The presence of a graphite deposit south of Croydon (Esmeralda) even brings into contention use of the existing Croydon-Normanton rail line with new connection to the port of Karumba for export of graphite,” he said.

Mr Katter said he hoped all levels of government would support the RailPhos initiative, but stressed that even without it, the private sector leadership shown here was a more than welcome change.

“Too many times, we see bureaucrats and politicians sitting on their hands while regional Australia gets left behind,” he said.

“Well, these people aren’t waiting. They are building, and we should be backing them every step of the way.”

Mr Katter pointed to the potential use of light rail from Nardoo Station for part of the journey and said also that materials could be moved into Leichhardt River canals.

Chatham is in discussion with a potential joint venture partner in RailPhos. It is engaging with parties including landowners, rail construction companies, Queensland Rail, construction material providers, mining companies with phosphate interests, and potential customers, primarily in China and also Indonesia.

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