Tag Archives: Mark Norwell

Perenti boosts Botswana portfolio with Sandfire Motheo copper project contract

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Perenti Global Ltd says its surface mining business in Africa, African Mining Services (AMS), has been awarded the contract for open-pit mining services at Sandfire Resources’ Motheo copper project in Ghanzi, Botswana.

The contract, which is yet to be finalised, has an estimated value of $496 million over an initial seven-year-and-three-month term with a provision for a one-year extension.

Under the terms of the Mining Services Contract, AMS will identify a suitable local Botswana company or companies as a joint venture partner for the project and transition to the joint venture before the commencement of mining in early 2022.

Finalisation of the contract is contingent on the satisfaction of two primary conditions, namely Sandfire being granted a mining licence for the project; and finalising the terms of the Mining Services Contract.

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said Motheo represented a game-changing growth opportunity for AMS and will substantially increase Perenti’s presence in Botswana.

“Growing our footprint in Botswana is aligned with our 2025 strategy, to further expand into stable mining jurisdictions and pursue quality projects. The benefit of adding Motheo to the Perenti project portfolio is the opportunity to leverage our existing in-region operational presence at Zone 5 (owned by Khoemacau Copper Mining) as well as partnering with Sandfire to develop Botswana’s next large-scale, highly productive, world-class copper mine.

“The Motheo project is another positive step in the ongoing transformation of our AMS business as we seek to create value and certainty for our client Sandfire and the Ghanzi community.”

Motheo is in the Kalahari Copper Belt, an emerging and relatively underexplored copper producing region. It is around 200 km to the southwest of the Khoemacau Zone 5 project, where Perenti, through its subsidiary Barminco, is currently engaged to undertake underground mine development works.

Motheo is held through Sandfire’s subsidiary, Tshukudu Metals, and was approved for development by Sandfire’s Board of Directors in December 2020 following completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on a base case of a 3.2 Mt/y operation with expansion potential.

The DFS outlined an initial 12.5-year operation, underpinned by an updated ore reserve of 39.9 Mt at 0.9% Cu and 12.2 g/t Ag for 360,000 t of contained copper and 15.6 Moz of contained silver, producing on average circa-30,000 t/y of contained copper and 1.2 Moz/y of contained silver over the first 10 years of operations.

Perenti Mining Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “Through this commitment and the establishment of a local joint venture partnership, we expect that more than 95% of the workforce will be citizens of Botswana. Furthermore, and leveraging our existing Maun based state-of-the-art mining training centre, our workforce will have access to the latest mining techniques and technology to enable the creation of a safe, highly skilled and productive workforce to support economic growth and diversification within Botswana.”

Muller said the company was also excited by the opportunity to deploy “future-focused mining technology initiatives” on the project that not only provide expected productivity and safety benefits to Sandfire but are also aligned with the two firms’ sustainability goals.

Perenti anticipates pre-production work to commence in late 2021 with mining to commence in early 2022.

Perenti’s AUMS wins two-year extension at AngloGold’s Geita operation

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Perenti Global’s African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) has secured a new two-year contract to continue operations at AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita Mine in Tanzania.

The two-year agreement will take effect immediately and comes with a value of $186 million (100% share).

As part of the new contract, Perenti will transfer 20% of equity in AUMS Tanzania to a newly created mining support services company called BG Umoja Services Limited. BG Umoja is an 80:20 joint venture between Perenti group entities and local drilling services and mining supply company, Geofields Tanzania Limited, which will supply mining support services to the Geita mine.

The establishment of the BG Umoja JV demonstrates Perenti’s ongoing commitment to support and build local capability, generating enduring social and economic value for the regions in which the company operates, Perenti said.

The Geita Complex is located within the Lake Victoria Goldfields of the Mwanza Region, about 120 km from Mwanza and 4 km west of the town of Geita. The Geita Mine was originally an open-pit operation, however, transitioned to an underground operation in 2016. Since this transition, AUMS has worked collaboratively with AngloGold Ashanti to provide a full suite of integrated underground mining services for the mine.

AUMS Tanzania, supported by Geofields, will continue to provide AngloGold Ashanti with underground mining services while facilitating the development of improved underground mining technical capability within the broader Tanzanian workforce.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said: “We are very pleased to be continuing our strong, long-term working relationship with AngloGold Ashanti at their flagship Geita Mine.

“Furthermore, this contract extension includes the addition of Geita Hill, a new underground development within the Geita Complex, which will see a steady increase in our scope of works and revenue run rate as the development ramps up from a single heading decline into multiple work areas and then into production later in 2021. This contract extension is expected to generate an improved earnings contribution for Perenti over the contract term.”

Perenti’s Mining Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said Perenti first started operating in Tanzania in the late 1990s and the award of the contract extension at the Geita mine provided it with an opportunity to continue to partner with, and support numerous local businesses, suppliers and contractors.

“We look forward to expanding on these relationships as we seek to create enduring value and certainty for all of our stakeholders,” he said.

Barminco bags A$200 million contract extension at Gold Fields’ Agnew mine

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Perenti’s hard-rock underground miner Barminco says it has been awarded a A$200 million ($153 million) contract extension at Gold Fields’ Agnew gold mine in Leinster, Western Australia.

The extension is for full underground mining services, driven by an increase in development and production “physicals” at the mine, Perenti said, adding that Barminco has been operating at Agnew since 2010.

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said: “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with our long-standing client, Gold Fields.

“Part of our 2025 group strategy is to organically grow this part of our business. The recent achievements of Barminco in this regard are a result of the strong relationships we share with our clients and the value we create for them through our world-class underground mining capabilities.”

Perenti Mining Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “We have been providing safe and efficient underground mining services at Agnew for more than 10 years and we are very pleased to be supporting Gold Fields with their increased development and production requirements. This extension will take our current term out to December 2023.”

Barminco wins 18-month, A$140 million contract extension at MMG’s Dugald River mine

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Barminco has agreed the terms of a variation and extension to its development and production contract at MMG’s Dugald River zinc-lead mine, in north Queensland, Australia.

In addition to several amended contract conditions, the variation extends the term of the contract by 18 months to December 31, 2022, with two, one-year options to extend further. The value of the 18-month extension for Perenti’s hard-rock underground miner is approximately A$140 million ($103 million).

Barminco has been operating at Dugald River since 2012. IM recently reported MMG and Barminco were trialling an automated Sandvik LHD at the mine to further boost production.

Barminco’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “We are excited to continue our relationship with MMG, which began in 2001 at the Rosebery mine in Tasmania. Dugald River has been a significant project for Barminco since commencement during 2012, and this extension will take our valued relationship with MMG to over 20 years.”

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said Perenti had a “robust” tender pipeline of A$8.8 billion and its Underground Industry Sector Group had secured more the A$540 million in contract extensions this financial year.

Perenti’s AUMS wins two-year extension at Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine

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Perenti subsidiary, African Underground Mining Services (AUMS), has been awarded a contract extension at Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso.

The contract extension is valued at around A$200 million ($146 million) over two years, from December 2021 to December 2023. It follows on from the existing development and production scope currently being executed, taking the total contracted work-in-hand at Yaramoko to some A$350 million as at the end of August 2020, Perenti said.

AUMS is an operating business unit of Barminco and has been successfully operating at the mine since the development of the Zone 55 portal in 2015. The project, 200 km southwest of Ouagadougou, has now grown to include the Bagassi South mine.

In the June quarter, Yaramoko produced 32,812 oz of gold, according to Roxgold.

Barminco’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “The high-grade Yaramoko complex is an important project for Roxgold, Barminco and the people of the Yaramoko community. We are very pleased to extend our contract with Roxgold to December 2023 and look forward to continuing to create enduring value and certainty for our client, employees, shareholders and the people of Yaramoko and Burkina Faso alike.”

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said Barminco and AUMS, combined, are a global leader in hard rock underground mining, with this contract extension reinforcing this sector leading position.

Barrick tasks Barminco with turning Hemlo into Tier Two UG gold mine

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More than four months after Barrick Gold announced it intended to phase out open-pit mining and move to an underground contract mining model at its Hemlo operations in Ontario, Canada, a contract miner has been named.

Perenti confirmed its underground hard-rock contract mining subsidiary, Barminco, had received the nod from the gold miner, being issued a letter of intent to provide underground contract mining services at the mine, which has produced more than 21 Moz of gold over 30 years of operation.

Under the proposed three-year, circa-A$200 million ($131 million) mining services contract, Barminco will “bring industry-leading technology and productivity to Hemlo in support of Barrick’s goal to modernise and improve the performance of the mine and establish it as a Tier Two asset within its group”, ASX-listed Perenti said.

Barrick previously said the modernisation and refocusing plan at Hemlo was designed to turn it into a Tier Two asset with a life of mine well into the future.

Barminco’s scope includes undertaking mine development, production and haulage, using mining equipment provided by Barrick. Up until recently there was a significant degree of autonomy in the Hemlo fleet including trucks and LHDs from Sandvik and Epiroc.

Barminco said it anticipates employing more than 300 people at the operation, with works commencing in April.

Perenti Group Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said the contract award was another significant step in the group’s international growth strategy to enter attractive and stable mining jurisdictions.

“This is Barminco and Perenti’s first significant contract in North America and builds on our regional growth capabilities, after expanding into Botswana last year with an A$800 million contract. We look forward to supporting Barrick to deliver outstanding results at Hemlo,” he said.

Underground Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “We are thrilled to be in a position to support Barrick to improve the performance of the Hemlo mine. We intend to work very closely with Barrick and all key stakeholders, including the incumbent workforce at Hemlo, the Pic River and Pic Mobert First Nations people and the Marathon community more generally to deliver a sustainable improvement in performance, thereby assuring the future of Hemlo.”

Perenti’s surface division awarded with A$155.5 million of new contracts

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Perenti reports its Surface Mining Industry Sector Group (ISG) has been awarded A$155.5 million ($103 million) in new and extended contracts.

The new work, extensions, and expansion of scope is across 10 projects, with highlights including:

  • A three-year contract (with options to extend) for production drilling services with Boggabri Coal Operations (a part of Idemitsu Australia Resources Group) at its Boggabri coal mine in New South Wales, Australia;
  • A three-year contract extension with a major iron ore producer for reverse circulation (RC) and grade control drilling at its Western Australian operations;
  • A 12-month contract extension with Consolidated Minerals to support current mining operations and regional expansion projects (which has mining operations in Australia and Ghana);
  • Expansion of services for a major mining contractor in Queensland, which will double the contract value across the current three-year contract duration;
  • A 12-month extension to existing works at Gold Fields’ St Ives and Granny Smith gold projects, in Western Australia, which involves land and lake rigs for air core, RC and diamond drilling; and
  • An equipment hire agreement with E&P at Gold Fields’ Damang gold mine in Ghana.

Perenti Group Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “We have been targeting a strong pipeline of surface and underground work and I am pleased we continue to convert these opportunities into secured contracts across a range of different projects in both Australia and Africa.

“These latest awards add to $165 million in surface work we announced in December 2019 and the A$200 million contract we recently announced for our Underground ISG.”

Panoramic looks to Barminco for Savannah nickel-copper-cobalt ramp up

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Perenti’s hard-rock underground mining subsidiary, Barminco, has been selected as the preferred contractor by Panoramic Resources at its Savannah nickel-copper-cobalt project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The contract, worth around A$200 million ($135 million), will see Barminco carry out mine development, production, and haulage over a three-year term. Work is expected to commence in March 2020.

Barminco anticipates it will employ around 170 people for the project and use predominately new equipment, which has been included in the capital guidance previously provided, to deliver the project.

Savannah, 110 km north of Halls Creek in Western Australia, saw mining operations recommence in December 2018, with the first shipment of concentrate departing Wyndham in February 2019. The miner is currently developing the higher-grade Savannah North orebody focusing on high speed development and a ramp up to full production in 2020, Perenti said.

Perenti Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “This project demonstrates our ability to capture organic growth opportunities, with the Barminco business now well integrated into the Perenti group whilst further embedding itself as a leader in underground mining.”

Underground Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, added: “We look forward to working closely with Panoramic Resources in driving the development of the Savannah North orebody safely and efficiently as it ramps up to full production.”

West African picks Ausdrill’s AUMS for Sanbrado open-pit mining

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Ausdrill, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, African Mining Services (AMS), has been selected by West African Resources as the preferred open-pit mining contractor for the Sanbrado gold project, in Burkina Faso.

Sanbrado, a low-cost, high-grade operation only 90 km from the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, will be the 14th commercial gold mine in Burkina Faso in 14 years. It is forecast to have average annual production of 217,000 oz/y of gold at all-in sustaining costs of less than $600/oz in its first five years of mine life.

The AMS scope of work includes a full suite of open pit mining services – including site preparation, drill and blast, load and haul, and maintenance works – over a five-year term, generating approximately A$235 million ($160 million) in revenue under a schedule of rates contract, Ausdrill said.

AMS anticipates it will employ some 190 personnel at the project, with the workforce to be predominantly local, and use a mix of new and existing equipment to deliver on the project.

AMS and West African Resources are in the process of finalising the contract terms, which will include the provision of an optional deferred payment arrangement for up to $10 million at a commercial interest rate, with works expected to commence in early 2020. West African Resources said mobilisation activities were expected to commence in November, ahead of open-pit mining commencement in January 2020.

Ausdrill Group Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “A key focus for the new Ausdrill group has been to enhance our surface operations in Africa and target substantial growth opportunities across a range of commodities in select African countries.

“Being selected as preferred contractor at the Sanbrado gold project is a significant achievement and represents the excellent progress we are making in building on the suite of quality projects on which AMS operates in the region.”

West African Resources Managing Director, Richard Hyde, said: “Sanbrado is the highest margin gold project in construction in West Africa and we are on target for approximately 300,000 oz of gold in the first 12 months of production. We look forward to partnering with AMS to bring this fully funded project into production in mid-2020.”

Ausdrill transformation starts to take shape following Barminco buy

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Less than four months after acquiring Barminco, Ausdrill says the integration of the two businesses is on target to deliver synergies of around A$11 million/y ($7.8 million/y) from its 2020 financial year.

This exceeds the previously stated target of A$5 million and is representative of both the new business structure Ausdrill has implemented and its growth strategy, the company said.

For the six months to end-December, Ausdrill said revenues were up 45.6% year-on-year to A$640.2 million, while underlying earnings before interest and taxes rose 27.6% to A$67.1 million. These results included two months contribution from the Barminco acquisition, which also included an additional 50% share in the two companies’ AUMS joint venture.

Ausdrill Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said the half-year results demonstrated the strength and diversity of the expanded Ausdrill group. “Importantly, the expanded Ausdrill group also secured over A$2 billion in new work since July 1, 2018, and successfully integrated the Barminco business, ensuring the company is set to deliver on its FY2019 guidance and is well positioned for FY2020.”

“Looking forward, we now have a more diverse and less capital-intensive group and have achieved this whilst maintaining a strong balance sheet that supports dividends and provides the flexibility to deliver on the strategy that has now been established.”

Ausdrill said the acquisition of Barminco made the company Australia’s second-largest mining services company.

Recently appointed Managing Director, Mark Norwell, said: “Ausdrill has done a great job in growing into a multi-national mining services company, but with the acquisition of Barminco and a refreshed structure, we have the opportunity to ensure the new Ausdrill has the best standards, a leading safety culture, and a constant focus on efficiencies to deliver for our customers, shareholders, communities and our 7,500 committed employees.

“In particular, a key focus is to transform our above ground operations in Africa, divest businesses that do not fit strategically, and ensure we are achieving best practice in the way we win and deliver work for clients across the group.

“We are also looking at ways to grow the business, such as expansion into new markets where we can have a competitive edge and into adjacent services that complement our existing portfolio.

“We expect to see continued strength in our core markets, particularly underground, and the Company remains on track to deliver its FY19 guidance of $98 million underlying net profit after tax.”