Perenti’s AMS to add A4 open pit services to Sandfire Motheo copper mine contract mining works

Posted by Daniel Gleeson on 7th September 2023

Perenti Limited’s surface mining business in Africa, African Mining Services (AMS), has been awarded the contract for open-pit mining services at the Sandfire Resources A4 open pit within the larger Motheo copper mine in Ghanzi, Botswana.

The contract is valued at $235 million over a term of 73 months.

Under the terms of the contract, AMS will deliver all surface mining services associated with development and production activities at the A4 open pit.

The A4 open pit is located around 8 km to the west of Sandfire’s existing T3 open pit, where AMS has successfully progressed from development into production works. Perenti anticipates A4 pre-production and development work to commence in September 2023, with pre-strip mining to start in October 2023.

The T3 and A4 open pits are expected to be operated as a larger, integrated mining operation and, therefore, will leverage the resulting benefits of scale and the operational synergies to optimise the return on capital aligned with our financial targets. The primary synergies include the optimisation of existing infrastructure, mining equipment, maintenance facilities and both technical and operational management.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti, said: “We are excited about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Sandfire Resources. Motheo is a long-life asset in the Kalahari Copper belt, and
the expansion of our role here is in keeping with our strategy of disciplined growth within top-tier mining jurisdictions with high quality partners. Sandfire is now one of our largest clients and over the term of the combined contracts, the T3 and A4 open pits are expected to generate total revenue of over A$1.1 billion, delivering strong returns for Perenti and its shareholders.”

Paul Muller, President of Contract Mining, said: “Since Barminco commenced operations in 2019 and AMS later in 2021, Perenti has established itself as the leading international mining contractor in the Kalahari Copper belt. With the award of our third mine in the region, we look forward to playing our part in Sandfire’s expansion of their world-class Motheo copper mine. Beyond this, I am proud of the contribution Barminco, AMS and Perenti continue to make to the development of Botswana’s mining industry and the community more broadly.”