GR Engineering Services says it has executed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with BHP Iron Ore Pty Ltd, as agent for the participants in the Yandi joint venture.
The EPC contract relates to the Yandi Eastern Front-End Facility Upgrade, which forms part of the broader Ministers North project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Ministers North Project remains subject to regulatory approvals, but BHP announced a $900 million investment (100% basis) into the project, a high-grade Brockman ore deposit southeast of Yandi, earlier this month.
The project will leverage existing Yandi infrastructure to deliver 20 Mt/y once ramped up, playing an important role in sustaining tonnes and supporting BHP’s 305 Mt/y (100% basis) medium term iron ore production target, the mining company said.
The project involves:
- Developing the Ministers North orebodies as a satellite extension of Yandi;
- Constructing a 13 km haul road and land bridge between Yandi and Ministers North; and
- Upgrading existing infrastructure and installing a new primary and secondary crusher at Yandi to support future production.
GR Engineering’s scope of work consists of the latter, being a brownfield upgrade of the Yandi Eastern primary crushing circuit, including a new 20 Mt/y two stage crushing plant to feed Ministers North ore into the existing Yandi operations. The contract sum is A$229.5 million ($160.4 million).
GR Engineering has previously commenced early engineering works and ordering of long lead items. Paradigm Engineers Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mipac Holdings Pty Ltd (GR Engineering’s process controls business), will also be engaged within the GR Engineering scope of work to provide specialist electrical and instrumentation services.
Tony Patrizi, GR Engineering Managing Director, said: “We are pleased to have been engaged by the Yandi joint venture to play a key role in the development of the Ministers North project. We have worked with BHP on multiple projects over the years and see this award as a strong endorsement of our proven EPC capabilities. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively to deliver a safe and successful outcome on the Ministers North project.”