Tag Archives: DIAB Engineering

NRW Holdings companies win work from Wonbindi Coal, Lynas Rare Earths, Rio Tinto

NRW Holdings Limited companies Golding Contractors and DIAB Engineering have banked some significant contracts in the mining space, the biggest of which is a Mining Service Agreement with Wonbindi Coal Pty Ltd at the Baralaba North Mine in Queensland.

The Baralaba North award is valued at around A$800 million ($546 million) and continues the strong relationship between Golding and Wonbindi where Golding has provided the contract mining services at the Baralaba North Mine over the last four years.

The scope of work remains the same and includes maintaining and operating a client-owned fleet of equipment, producing an ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection product. The pact commenced on July 1 and follows on from a Binding Letter of Intent the two companies signed earlier in the year.

DIAB Engineering, meanwhile, has been awarded two contracts with a value of circa-A$78 million.

At the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, DIAB has been awarded a contract for a key component of the facility, being the construction of the Filter Building used to process and further concentrate the rare earth. The works to be performed include the supply, fabrication and erection of the Filter Building, the installation of associated equipment and piping, and electrical and instrumentation installation.

DIAB will carry out all the circa-1,500 tonne fabrication works for the Filter Building at its facilities in Geraldton using around 80 local Midwest team members. A construction workforce of 60-80 will then be mobilised to site progressively over the coming months.

Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths, is the only scale producer of separated rare earths outside of China. It mines and processes rare earth ore at Mt Weld, in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Lynas’ new processing facility in Kalgoorlie will treat rare earth concentrate from Mt Weld to produce a rare earth carbonate.

At Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Tom Price mine in Western Australia, DIAB Engineering, has secured the supply, fabrication and installation of multiple dust suppression systems to be utilised on the Tom Price and Western Turner crusher and conveyor systems. These systems will assist in improved control and suppression of dust generated from processing activities, reducing the impacts on personnel and plant operations, it says. The project will run for approximately 12 months, employing 60 people at its peak.

NRW in line for A$702 million Karara Mining iron ore gig

NRW has received a letter of intent from Karara Mining Ltd to carry out mining services works at the Karara iron ore mine in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Subject to reaching agreement with Karara, the anticipated value of the contract is around A$702 million ($529 million) over a five-year duration with a project workforce averaging circa-250 personnel.

MACA, through its recently acquired Mining West business, currently holds the contract mining agreement at Karara.

The works to be performed include load and haul, drill and blast, and run of mine re-handling. The drill and blast component will be undertaken by NRW’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Action Drill & Blast Pty Ltd. In addition, the work includes train loading and re-handling of the product stockpiles together with “miscellaneous day works” at the mine site, camp and access roads.

Karara is the largest mining operation and the first major magnetite mine in the Mid West region. It produces a premium, high-grade concentrate that it exports to steelmakers.

“With an expected mine life of 30-plus years, Karara’s operation includes a large open-pit mine, complex ore processing and beneficiation plant and significant infrastructure and logistics networks,” NRW said.

NRW estimates an equipment capital expenditure of around A$170 million to be progressively spent over the term, which will include the purchase of three 600 t face shovel excavators and a fleet of 220 t trucks.

NRW CEO, Jules Pemberton, said: “With a strong local presence in the area through our Geraldton-based DIAB Engineering business and our mining contract with Gascoyne Resources at the Dalgaranga mine site, we look forward to continuing to support the existing and highly experienced workforce on site through this transition, as well as creating employment opportunities for the Gascoyne region community.”

Karara CEO, Changjiang Zhu, said: “NRW is an established Western Australia-based mining and civil contractor with extensive open-cut mining experience gained through a number of successful mining operations in the state. Offering new prime equipment, NRW has the capability to undertake the entire Karara scope of work comprising a broad range of mining, construction and engineering services.

“We look forward to negotiation of an agreement with NRW and commencement of mining services early next year.”

RCR and Primero Group to deliver crushing and conveying system for Fortescue

RCR Mining Technologies and Primero Group are to work together on delivering a primary crushing plant (PCP) and overland conveyor (OLC) for the Queens project at Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon Hub operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

RCR, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRW Holdings, was awarded the A$80 million ($61.8 million) contract by Fortescue, with Primero being sub-contracted a A$30 million package to provide engineering support and construction services for the PCP and OLC.

RCR previously delivered the Hopper 9 Crushing Facility at Fortescue’s Cloudbreak mine, with the latest award “strategically significant for the business as it showcases our engineering-led delivery of innovative solutions”.

Civil construction and earthworks will be undertaken by NRW’s Civil division, while RCR and DIAB Engineering, together with Primero, “bring a very strong design, manufacture and construction capability to this project with an engineering-led philosophy of solutions and innovation”, NRW said.

NRW Holdings is in the middle of trying to take over Primero following a cash and shares bid that values Primero at A$100 million.

NRW Holdings to add further mining/metals EPC capabilities with Primero acquisition

NRW Holdings is in pole position to take over Primero Group following a cash and shares bid that values Primero at A$100 million ($74 million).

Primero Directors, who own around 30% of Primero’s equity, have unanimously recommended its shareholders accept the offer in the absence of a superior proposal coming forward.

The addition of Primero, NRW says, would provide significant engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capability to NRW’s renamed “Minerals, Energy & Technologies” business pillar.

For Primero, meanwhile, it would deliver a “meaningful premium” to recent market trading levels and avoid the need for a potential significantly dilutive capital raising to fund working capital required to deliver its 2021/2022 financial year contracted order book, NRW said. Primero currently has a contracted order book for FY21 of circa-A$285 million and holds preferred EPC contractor status across multiple projects totalling circa-A$900 million.

Managing Director of NRW, Jules Pemberton, said: “The acquisition of Primero will provide NRW with the opportunity to expand its Minerals, Energy & Technologies specialised capability and to leverage the combined expertise of both companies to pursue new business initiatives across a large pipeline of opportunities.

“It builds on NRW’s recent acquisitions of DIAB Engineering and RCR Mining Technologies and represents a further diversification of our strategic platform to offer clients continuity of services across the whole lifecycle of resource projects – from early planning, design, development, construction to operations and maintenance. In addition, Primero is also well positioned to future-focused energy solutions, including lithium and hydrogen technologies.”

Primero Managing Director, Cameron Henry, added: “The combination of NRW’s diversified delivery model coupled with the Primero capabilities will provide our client base with a unique end to end delivery model that will differentiate within the current market and will rapidly accelerate Primero’s growth strategy.

“Our teams have been working well at multiple levels together over the past 12 months and have several projects currently approaching delivery stage that will showcase the model.”

Detailed information relating to the offer will be set out in the Bidder’s Statement and Target’s Statement, which are expected to be dispatched to Primero shareholders in late November and early December 2020, respectively, the companies noted.

Newly acquired NRW Holdings companies to work on Tanami Expansion 2

In announcing an encouraging 10-month financial performance, NRW Holdings revealed its RCR Mining Technologies (RCRMT) division, working in tandem with DIAB Engineering, had been awarded a works contract at Newmont’s Tanami Expansion 2 project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

In an update on the company’s performance to the end of April, NRW Holdings said it had generated A$1.6 billion ($1.05 billion) of revenue in the 10 month-period from June 2019, representing a record revenue for the group compared with any previous full financial year.

Over this period, the company had progressed with the integration of the BGC Contracting business into the group, following the acquisition at the end of last year.

On contract news, the company said RCRMT and DIAB Engineering, which the company acquired through the BGC buy, had secured a A$17 million fabrication package for Tanami Expansion 2, with the companies manufacturing the head frame and skyshaft steel work for the project.

Jules Pemberton, NRW’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said: “The award by Newmont to RCRMT provides an opportunity to bring both RCRMT and DIAB Engineering (acquired as part of the BGC Contracting transaction), together to deliver this important project.

“The ability to deliver this work from our regional facilities, in Bunbury, Geraldton and our Welshpool facility, to a major Australian project reflects the growing capability of NRW in the Australian manufacturing sector to provide specialised capital equipment for mining clients.”

Newmont’s board signed off on the TE2 project in October 2019. The expansion includes construction of a 1,460 m shaft, additional capacity in the processing plant, and supporting infrastructure to enable profitable recovery of ore at a depth of 2,140 m below surface.