NRW Holdings Limited says its wholly-owned subsidiary, Action Drill & Blast Pty Ltd, has been awarded a five-year drilling contract by Stanmore Resources SMC Limited at its South Walker Creek mine.

The contract, valued at circa A$65 million ($41 million) over the five years, is due to commence in November 2022 and will leverage a workforce of some 35 personnel.

South Walker Creek is an open-pit mine, some 35 km west of Nebo in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The mine has been operating since 1996 and adopts a multi-bench, open-pit mining method using a dragline, and truck and hydraulic excavators.

With a mine life of 25-plus years, South Walker Creek produced 4.9 Mt of high-quality low volatile PCI coal in the 2021 financial year.

Stanmore Resources acquired BHP’s 80% interest in BMC in May 2022, becoming the operator of South Walker Creek.