MACA is to upgrade an existing public road and develop access road at the Corunna Downs iron ore project following a contract award from Atlas Iron.

The project, 33 km south of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, will see Atlas develop five open pits using conventional drill and blast, and load and haul methods. Some 23.3 Mt of iron ore will be mined above the water table over an approximate timeframe of six years, according to a filing with the Environmental Protection Authority.

MACA’s contract is expected to generate revenue of around A$38 million ($23 million) over the eight-month term of the project. This includes the upgrade of a 22 km section of public road and the development of 13 km of access road. At its peak, the project will employ around 80 people, according to MACA.

The project is expected to commence in the June quarter for completion this year.

MACA has a long-standing working relationship with Atlas having previously provided services at the Pardoo, Mt Dove, Abydos and Wodgina operations. It is currently providing crushing services for Atlas at its Mount Webber operations.

MACA CEO, Mike Sutton, said: “MACA is delighted to have been awarded these early civil works for Atlas demonstrating the civil capability within our end to end mining service offering. We look forward to being part of the successful development of Corunna Downs and continuing our long-standing relationship with Atlas.”

Separately, MACA also advises it has received notice of a 12-month extension to its Eastern Ridge mobile crushing contract for BHP extending the project to April 2021.