Thiess says its Australia team has made major strides to mobilise at the Austral Resources-owned Anthill copper project in Queensland, Australia, following the award of a three-year mining services contract in December.

The scope of works includes loading and hauling waste and ore to meet the client’s growing development and production needs. Anthill Site Manager, Glen McDonald, recognised his team’s efforts, with the support of Thiess’ functional teams, to safely assemble people, equipment and support services over the past two months.

“We’ve consistently delivered on project milestones – safely, efficiently and with pride,” McDonald said. “This is recognition of our team’s ability to deliver and embed Thiess’ principles into how we work.”

He also recognised members of the team in Western Australia who flew to the project to support early creek diversion works.

“As a global business we are fortunate to be able to draw on expertise within and across state and international borders,” McDonald said. “Their multi-commodity knowledge and experience ensured we were able to complete the works on time and budget.”

The Thiess Anthill team is moving into the final stages of mobilisation recently welcoming new team members and a second fleet to the project.

“We’ve quickly mobilised and commissioned two excavators, including a Liebherr R 9350 and Liebherr R 994B, to support the site’s production requirements,” McDonald said. “This has enabled us to commence waste stripping and the construction of the ROM stockpile ready for ore mining in the coming months.

“These efforts are also ensuring our client is on track to produce 10,000 t of copper cathode from mid-2022.”