Ausenco has been awarded a $7million contract to deliver the detailed engineering for a 401 km iron ore pipeline for Samarco Mineração S. A. The iron concentrate slurry pipeline is part of Samarco’s expansion and will be the third pipeline for the project. It will link the Germano mine in Mariana, Brazil to the industrial complex at Ubú, Brazil and will have a nominal capacity of 20 Mt/y. Samarco is a privately held Brazilian mining company, owned by BHP Billiton and Vale, that produces 22.25 Mt of iron ore pellets annually, and is the second largest exporter on the seaborne iron ore pellet market in the world.
Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said he was pleased to build on the long standing relationship his company had enjoyed with Samarco to deliver this strategically important project. “The Ausenco PSI team has a great relationship with Samarco, having participated in the design of the first two pipelines which are currently the largest in the world in operation,” Meka said. “This contract further extends our footprint in the high growth region of South America and builds on the momentum of project wins we’ve enjoyed during the past six months.” The third pipeline is due for completion by early 2014.