Tag Archives: KOTH

Delta Drone to provide aerial support to Red 5 at KOTH, Darlot

Global drones-as-a-service provider, Delta Drone International Limited, says it has signed a contract with Red 5 Limited (via wholly owned subsidiary) in Western Australia for drone surveying services.

The contract with Greenstone Resources (WA) Pty Ltd is for three years and has a total contract value of A$1.01 million ($725,581) and annual recurring revenue of A$336,000 (billed monthly). Services are for the King of the Hills Mine (KOTH) and Darlot Mine, both in the Eastern Goldfields.

Red 5 owns and operates the KOTH gold project, a mine that is scheduled to produce 176,000 oz/y of gold over the first six years of its life. Darlot is an underground satellite mine to the KOTH Processing Hub (pictured).

Delta Drone International CEO, Christopher Clark, said: “We are pleased to be officially working with Red 5 and to provide frequent aerial surveying support which can be delivered efficiently and effectively to the business across a number of areas including for open pit mining, stockpile, processing area and for environmental purposes.”

Christian Viguié, CEO of Delta Drone SA, said this was the first major contract the company had signed in Australia, validating the success of its implementation and ability to duplicate the model that made Rocketmine successfully leveraged in southern Africa.

Red 5 formalises KOTH contract mining pact with Macmahon

Red 5 Ltd has awarded the King of the Hills (KOTH) mining services contract to Macmahon Contractors Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of civil and mining contractor Macmahon Holdings.

The contract award follows the completion of a thorough competitive tender process in late 2020 for the open-pit and underground mine contracts and encompasses the combined mining operations at KOTH, in Western Australia, Red 5 said.

Red 5 signed a Letter of Intent with Macmahon for the mining contract in March and, following the finalisation of contract terms, has now formally awarded the contract. The contractual terms are in line with the mining unit costs outlined in the KOTH Final Feasibility Study (FFS).

This study outlined a 16-year life of mine plan from open-pit and underground mining, whereby the company would produce 176,000 oz/y of gold over the first six years, with an initial five years of underground mining. First gold is scheduled in the June quarter of 2022.

The mining services contract is for an initial five-year period, with industry-standard incentives and penalties for mining contractor performance.

Red 5 Managing Director, Mark Williams, said the formal award of the contract to Macmahon is a significant milestone for the project.

“We’re pleased to have finalised agreed contract terms with Macmahon and formally appointed them as our open-pit and underground mining contractor,” he said. “Macmahon is one of the strongest mining contractors in the market, and we are looking forward to partnering with them to deliver Australia’s next significant new gold mine.

“Importantly, the contract terms are in line with the mining unit costs outlined in the KOTH FFS. Operational efficiencies and cost benefits have been realised in having both mining operations managed by a single contractor.

“Given the current tightness in the labour market in Western Australia’s mining sector, we believe Macmahon is well placed to secure the skilled resources required to operate the underground and open pit mines at KOTH.”

Red 5 taps Zenith Energy for hybrid power options at King of the Hills gold project

Red 5 Ltd has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with a subsidiary of Zenith Energy Ltd that will see the growing Australia-based power producer build, own and operate approximately 30 MW of hybrid power generation capacity to service the needs of the King of the Hills (KOTH) project in Western Australia.

The power inputs as part of the BOO agreement comprise high efficiency reciprocating gas fuel power generation together with a 2 MW photovoltaic solar farm (an example from Zenith’s other work shown above) and a battery energy storage system.

Power supply to the site is planned to commence in the March quarter of 2022 with an initial term of 10 years. The contract includes provision for a potential future upgrade to the power station to support increased plant throughput beyond the initial planned 4 Mt/y run rate, Red 5 says.

Gas will be supplied from the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, 12 km west of the mine, under separate contracts, the company clarified.

Red 5 Managing Director, Mark Williams, said the award of the agreement marked another important construction milestone for the King of the Hills project while, at the same time, helping to achieve one of the company’s environmental, social and governance commitments to reduce the carbon footprint of the project.

“We are pleased to have signed the Power Purchase Agreement with Zenith, an experienced power producer which provided us with a compelling hybrid thermal and sustainable power solution that includes renewable energy,” he said. “Zenith’s combination of a gas and solar power station, supported by a battery energy storage system, provides the efficiency and stability required for the processing plant and infrastructure to enable King of the Hills to be a long-life, low-cost gold producer.”

The KOTH project is an open pit and underground gold deposit with a projected mine life of over 16 years. This could see the company produce 176,000 oz/y of gold over the first six years, according to a recent feasibility study.