ASX-listed Agrimin has awarded Primero Group the engineering design contract for the process plant at the Mackay potash project, in Western Australia.

With Agrimin’s process consultants at Novopro Projects having already completed the process modelling and flowsheets for the definitive feasibility study at Mackay, Primero has commenced the engineering design for the plant.

A prefeasibility study for Mackay, 785 km south of the Port of Wyndham, envisaged the process plant having a capacity of 426,000 t/y of sulphate of potash (SOP) as a dry granular product, with the same study assuming a product mix of 50% granular and 50% standard product.

The engagement of Primero, a multi-disciplinary engineering group which specialises in the design, construction and commissioning of global resource projects, is on an early contractor involvement basis, with the initial awarded stage being the process plant design works.

“This engagement follows a competitive process to select a contractor with suitable experience and capabilities to undertake both the engineering design and subsequent construction of the process plant and associated site based non-process infrastructure,” Agrimin said.

The 2018 PFS outlined a 20 year project at Mackay that came with a $409 million capital cost and an average SOP grade of 8 kg/cu.m.