Tag Archives: Michael Finnegan

Macmahon expands underground work with Silver Lake Deflector contract

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings’ underground mining division has been awarded a four-year contract with Silver Lake Resources to perform the mining works at the Deflector gold-copper mine in Western Australia.

A Macmahon subsidiary, GBF, has been providing underground mining services at the Deflector mine since mining commenced in early 2016. Macmahon acquired 100% of GBF in 2019, and this business is now an important part of the company’s strategy to expand in the underground mining services market, it said.

The company also recently had its stay extended at Silver Lake’s Mount Monger gold operations, in Western Australia.

The contract is a full service mining contract and, therefore, incorporates all underground development, ground support and production activities, including the provision of all labour and mobile mining equipment. Anticipated to run until April 2025, the contract is expected to generate around A$220 million ($170 million) in revenue for the company over this period.

Macmahon’s CEO and Managing Director, Michael Finnegan, said: “This new contract is an important milestone in our strategy to expand our underground business, and is a clear demonstration of the benefits we are now realising from the GBF acquisition.

“Importantly, the Deflector mine is a high-grade gold and copper asset in Western Australia, so is an attractive project in the current macro environment. We look forward to continuing to support the development of Deflector, and to achieving further scale in the underground market.”

Macmahon Holdings books open pit coal and underground gold work

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings has added another A$270 million ($201 million) of work to its books with the formal award of preferred contractor status at the Foxleigh coal project and a two-year contract extension for its GBF business at Pantoto Ltd’s gold operation.

After being selected as preferred contractor in October, Macmahon’s work at the Foxleigh joint venture operation (pictured) in Queensland, Australia, will commence on March 1. The contractor will provide equipment hire and maintenance services at the open pit, truck and excavator operation in the Bowen Basin, with the contract expected to generate circa-A$250 million of revenue over a five-year term.

The work with Pantoro will see GBF take on additional work at the Wagtail and Nicolsons underground gold operations near Halls Creek in Western Australia. This contract will extend GBF’s tenure at the project to October 2023, and is worth around A$20 million, it said.

Macmahon CEO and Managing Director, Michael Finnegan, said: “The formal award of the Foxleigh project adds A$250 million to our order book and further diversifies and expands our east coast presence. We are now looking forward to building on the relationship with our new client.

“We are also delighted to continue the strong relationship that GBF has built over many years with Pantoro. The contract extension is another important step in our strategy to further expand in the underground market and we remain very well placed to continue growing our underground business.”

Macmahon banks coal mining work with Foxleigh joint venture

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings confirms it has been selected as the preferred tenderer to provide equipment hire and maintenance services at the Foxleigh joint venture operation in Queensland, Australia, from March 1, 2021.

The Foxleigh mine is an open pit, truck and excavator operation in the Bowen Basin, which produces low volatile PCI coal for Asia steel mill customers.

The proposed scope of work for Macmahon involves the hire and maintenance of 21 large capacity dump trucks and other ancillary equipment over a five-year term, together with the maintenance of client-owned equipment.

Macmahon estimates this work will generate around A$250 million ($177 million) in revenue and require capital expenditure of circa-A$50 million. Most of this capital expenditure will be to acquire 220 t dump trucks, which are expected to have a useful life of 10 years, Macmahon says.

Michael Finnegan, CEO and Managing Director of Macmahon, said: “We are very pleased to be selected as the preferred equipment and maintenance provider for the Foxleigh project, and we are looking forward to delivering for a new client in Queensland. This selection highlights our expertise in sourcing and maintaining large scale mining equipment and our ability to offer a range of service models to our clients.”

Foxleigh is jointly owned by QMetco, POSCO Australia and Nippon Steel Australia.

Macmahon and Redsands looking at rehab, contract mining opportunities in WA

Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Macmahon has signed an agreement with Redsands Rehabilitation to jointly pursue rehabilitation and contract mining opportunities in the northern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Redsands is an Indigenous-owned business focused on the rehabilitation and revegetation of land disturbed by mining. The company was founded by Dennis Sceghi, who has worked in the mining industry as an equipment operator and contractor for over 30 years and is also an elder of the Kultju native title group.

Macmahon CEO and Managing Director, Michael Finnegan, noted that by working together, Macmahon and Red Sands will have an enhanced ability to identify work, offer economic opportunities to Indigenous people and improve the sustainability of the mining industry.

“Redsands is a regional business with very specialised environmental expertise, drawing on the skills of traditional owners,” he said. “With this agreement we will be able to target new opportunities which may not have been available to us individually. We also hope to be able to create additional Indigenous employment and expand our rehabilitation services in Western Australia.”

Macmahon extends stay at expanding Byerwen coking coal mine

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings is to help increase production at the Byerwen mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin after securing an expansion and three-year extension of its work at the coking coal operation.

Macmahon has been providing open-pit mining services at Byerwen since the establishment of the mine in November 2017 and employs more than 430 people on site. The mine is owned by Byerwen Coal Pty Ltd, a joint venture between QCoal Group and Japanese steel manufacturer, JFE Steel.

The new contract significantly expands production to 10 Mt/y of hard coking coal, and applies from June 1, 2020, until November 1, 2023. The expected revenue over the contract period will be A$700 million ($483 million), with full capacity expected from July 2020, Macmahon said.

There is also an option to extend the contract for a further two years after this period. If this option is exercised, revenue from the contract could exceed A$1 billion, according to the company.

The expansion will involve capital expenditure by Macmahon of A$16 million on ancillary equipment. The contractor has also procured two additional 800 t hydraulic excavators for the project worth A$37 million, it said.

Macmahon CEO and MD, Michael Finnegan, said: “We are very pleased to have secured this expansion and extension at Byerwen, which is one of our cornerstone projects in Australia. Byerwen Coal is an excellent partner and the project has been very successful since its inception. We look forward to continuing to work with our client on the development of this premium asset.”

QCoal Group Managing Director, Christopher Wallin, said the production increase at Byerwen was testament to the favourable economics of the project and the work of the QCoal staff and contract partners involved in developing the mine over several years.

“The development of the Byerwen project is a great success story for the industry, with the mine now emerging as a very low-cost producer of hard coking coal,” he said. “I am very proud that this expansion will enable us to further contribute to the Queensland economy with additional local employment and opportunities for regional communities.”

Macmahon’s GBF wins contract extension at Silver Lake’s Mount Monger ops

Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings’ acquisition of underground contracting business, GBF Group, is already paying off, with GBF receiving a conditional letter of intent from Silver Lake Resources for further work at the Mount Monger gold operations in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

GBF has been operating at Mount Monger since 2014 and currently provides mining services to the Daisy Complex, Cock-eyed Bob and Maxwells mines, which form part of this operation, expected to produce 120,000-130,000 oz of gold-equivalent in Silver Lake’s 2020 financial year.

Under the new letter of intent, GBF’s tenure at these sites will be extended for three years from March 1, 2020, and GBF will also develop Silver Lake’s new Santa mine, due to commence next month.

GBF estimates the value of the new work with Silver Lake will add around A$200 million ($134 million) to its order book. The two companies will now negotiate the formal mining services agreement, with finalisation expected in March, Macmahon said.

Macmahon CEO and MD, Michael Finnegan, said: “The new work is an important milestone in our strategy to further expand in the underground market, and demonstrates the value in our GBF acquisition. We are looking forward to working closely with Silver Lake on this project and building on our relationship with this key client.”

Macmahon moves into “cash flow positive” territory on Newcrest Telfer contract

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , ,

Macmahon Holdings says it has come to an agreement with Newcrest Mining over the increased rates for its work at the Telfer gold-copper mine, in Western Australia, with the settlement leading to the contract becoming “cash flow positive” over its remaining term.

In June, Macmahon said it had commenced facilitated negotiations with Newcrest regarding pricing for changes to the mine plan and contract program at Telfer following a disagreement between the two parties.

Macmahon first commenced the Telfer life of mine contract in February 2016 and, “despite previously disclosed risks and difficulties associated with the project, achieved an operational turnaround in 2018”, it said. Without a rate increase being agreed by Newcrest or some other form of contract amendment, the mine plan and program changes had a negative impact on Macmahon’s costs and returns from the project, according to the contractor.

Telfer, some 450 km east-south-east of Port Hedland, comprises the Main Dome and West Dome open pits and the Telfer underground mine.

Macmahon CEO and Managing Director, Michael Finnegan, said: “The resolution of this dispute means we can now focus all of our attention on maximising the performance of our existing business, and capitalising on growth opportunities. We have several opportunities in our tender pipeline that we are pursuing from an exclusive or shortlisted position, and I am optimistic about the prospects of winning additional work in Australia and achieving further growth in our profitable operations offshore.”

Macmahon has reiterated its financial year 2020 guidance, with revenue expected to be between A$1.2-$1.3 billion ($829-898 million), and EBIT between A$80-$90 million.

Macmahon to go underground with AngloGold, IGO at Tropicana gold mine

Mine operation news, Mine shafts and equipment, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , ,

ASX-listed Macmahon Holdings says it has been issued a Notice of Award by AngloGold Ashanti, its client at the Tropicana gold mine in Western Australia, for the development of the new Boston Shaker underground mine.

Tropicana, a joint venture between AngloGold (70% and manager) and Independence Group (IGO, 30%), is already Macmahon’s largest mining contract in Australia.

The addition of the Boston Shaker underground work is worth approximately A$170 million ($121 million) over five years, according to Macmahon, which said it expected to commence work in May with contract documentation finalised by the parties in the coming weeks.

Capital expenditure for the underground works is estimated to be approximately A$30 million, and will be primarily spread across the first three years, Macmahon said.

The development of the Boston Shaker underground mine will enable Tropicana gold production to be maintained at between 450,000-500,000 oz/y of gold over the five years to and including the 2023 financial year, AngloGold and Independence Group said. It is expected to contribute 100,000 oz/y to the operation, with first gold expected during the September 2020 quarter. The feasibility study estimated a capital cost for the project of A$105 million.

Macmahon’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Finnegan, said: “We are excited that our long-term alliance partnership with AngloGold Ashanti and Independence Group has grown to also include its new underground development at Tropicana, where we have been operating the surface mining since 2012.

“This contract win is a major step towards our strategic goal of growing our underground business and capitalising on the increased level of underground opportunities with existing and potential new clients.”