Thiess says it has been selected as preferred mining services contractor for Austral Resources’ Anthill copper project, near Mount Isa in Queensland, Australia.

Austral has notified Thiess of its intention to enter exclusive negotiations to finalise the terms of a three-year mining services contract. Under the scope of works, Thiess will operate and maintain two mining fleets, undertaking mining services to support Austral’s copper production requirements.

Thiess CEO and Executive Chairman, Michael Wright, said: “Thiess has a long history operating in the Mount Isa region dating back to the early 1960s, and we’re very pleased to be back. With our selection as preferred contractor, Austral Resources has recognised our team’s specialist mining capability and our flexible approach to meet the needs of their mine.

“This project is very important to Thiess as we continue to diversify our business across commodities, mining regions and services. We are positioned well to support Austral Resources and the local community, with the right equipment, technical capability and operations team.”

The Anthill project is around 80 km northwest of Mount Isa and will extend copper production from the existing Lady Annie Operations.

Austral says CSA Global completed an updated mining study in April 2021 on Anthill resulting in a JORC 2012 compliant ore reserve of 5.1 Mt grading 0.94% Cu containing 47,700 t of copper. This study outlined that ore will be mined from two pits over a 40-month period. Total recovered copper from the heap leach process will be 40,400 t over a 44-month period.