Ausenco has been awarded a $9.6 million engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the magnetite extraction plant at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mining (EHM) operation in northwest Queensland, Australia. The plant forms part of the company’s $589 million development of the EHM underground mine and magnetite processing operations. Construction will commence this year, with commissioning expected in early 2011.

EHM currently has an annual production capacity of 90,000 t of copper in concentrate and 110,000 oz of gold in concentrate. The magnetite processing operation will produce around 1.2 Mt/y of magnetite.

Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said “The company is pleased with the contract win, which strengthens the relationship Ausenco had built with Xstrata over many years. We have enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Xstrata starting with the copper concentrator expansion project at Mt Isa in 2002, and we are very pleased to be working with them once again.

“As a global provider of engineering and project management services to the resources and energy industries based in Queensland, we are proud to be part of an important project for the local resource sector and also to contribute to the development of the local economy,” he said.