Releasing AAco's profit forecasts and half-yearly results last week, AAco managing director David Farley said the company was also looking at other property sales and purchases to realign its footprint in northern Australia.

After lengthy negotiations, and despite considering a legal challenge to stop Meteor Downs being consumed by coal-mining interests, AAco has relented and sold the 17,474-hectare property, south of Emerald, to Swiss mining giant Xstrata.

Xstrata's Rolleston Coal mine has been closing in on the property for 10 years, buying a south-eastern corner of the holding years ago.

Mr Farley said AAco could have fought the miner's appetite for agricultural land in court, but the prospect of success after a five-year legal battle was not expected to be good, and the sale price was well in excess of the book value for country that was no longer a core asset.

AAco will put the sale earnings towards fast-tracking its abattoir and other future land purchases.

It hopes to have planning approval by Christmas for the 200,000-head-a-year capacity meatworks at one of two Darwin sites now being considered, with construction set to take 12 months.

The abattoir, which needs support from federal and Northern Territory governments to get electrical, gas and water services, will employ about 150 to 180 staff to process aged cows and bulls from AAco herds and other northern stations for the boxed beef trade.

Mr Farley said the facility was not an alternative to the live export market.

"If we had to get to that point, we'd need $10 billion, a 10-year planning horizon, major investment in roads, rail, port, electricity and other service infrastructure and 10 good men to oversee getting the job done," he said.