Australian engineering company Monadelphous Group has secured contracts with a combined value of A$100 million in the aluminium, coal and iron ore markets with major customers BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The majority of the contracts are in central Queensland.

In a first for the company, Monadelphous will be working on two dragline shutdowns for the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) at its Blackwater coal mine in the Bowen Basin in central Queensland. Also in the Bowen Basin, the company has been awarded a contract to fabricate and construct a radial stacker for BMA’s Peak Downs coal mine.

In Gladstone, central Queensland, Monadelphous has been awarded a package of work to install an Automated Alumina Delivery System and associated infrastructure as part of Rio Tinto’s Boyne Smelter Development Project.

The company has also received a notice of award from Rio Tinto for construction of a Coal Handling Preparation Plant (CHPP) and associated coal handling plant as part of its Clermont mine project.

In Western Australia, Monadelphous has been awarded a contract with BHP Billiton Iron Ore for structural and mechanical pre-works at Nelson Point as part of its Rapid Growth Project 6.

All projects are scheduled for completion in the second half of calendar 2009, except for the work at Boyne Smelter which at this stage is expected to end in second half of calendar 2010.

Commenting on the new contracts Monadelphous Managing Director Rob Velletri said: “We are especially pleased to be working for BMA as this is our first dragline maintenance contract outside the Hunter Valley and a major milestone in the achievement of our coal market growth strategy in the Bowen Basin.”