Tag Archives: Perenti

Barminco extends stay at Regis Resources’ Duketon operations

Perenti Limited’s underground mining business, Barminco, has been awarded a new contract for the provision of mining services at Regis Resources Limited’s Duketon Operations (including Rosemont and Garden Well underground mines) in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The alliance style agreement comes with a contract value of A$393 million ($255 million) and is based on initial three-year term, commencing April 1, 2024.

As part of the pact, Barminco is due to carry out underground development, production and support services at the operations.

Regis recently opened the Balkau Decline at its Garden Well South underground mine, which is an underground extension of the Garden Well open-pit mine: a key production source at Regis’ Duketon gold project.

Rosemont, meanwhile, includes the Rosemont open pit and underground mine, as well as Baneygo open pit. The Rosemont and associated surface deposits are mined using conventional open-pit mining truck and shovel methods. The Rosemont underground produces approximately 600,000 t/y and is mined using mechanised open stoping.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti, said: “We’re very pleased to continue our partnership with Regis Resources at the Duketon Operations where Barminco has been providing value to our
client through both development and production works since February 2019. This award adds Australian based underground earnings to our portfolio, which is aligned with the ongoing delivery of our strategy.”

Gabrielle Iwanow, President of Contract Mining, said, “Our people are at the heart of our success and their dedication, innovative thinking and highly skilled efforts have again resulted in the award of a significant contract with the third largest Australian gold producer on the ASX, at a great mine that is located right here in Western Australia. We are proud to continue partnering with Regis Resources as we embark on this alliance style contract to further deliver on our purpose of creating enduring value and certainty.”

RCT collaborates with Barminco on latest automation project at IGO Nova

Today, RCT’s agnostic automation can be found at many of Barminco’s operations throughout the Goldfields region, and now there is one more to add with the completion of its most recent project at IGO’s Nova mine.

Despite the site’s existing automation infrastructure, when it came time for upgrading, RCT Automation was selected as the preferred supplier by Barminco, a subsidiary of global mining services group Perenti.

“Technology and innovation are a key focus for Barminco, and we appreciated the simplicity of the RCT Automation solution – quicker setup times and ease of use for our operators,” Darren Kwok, Head of Mining Electrification and Technology for Perenti Contract Mining, said.

The loaders are operated from the safety and comfort of Automation Centres, which have been situated both underground and on the surface of the mine.

To enhance sustainability and cost efficiency, existing cabins were repurposed, refurbished at RCT’s Kalgoorlie branch.

Kalgoorlie Branch Manager, Rick Radcliffe, said: “The cabins required sandblasting and painting before we lined them with fridge panelling and fitted them out with RCT’s state-of-art ergonomic chair and operations centre.”

In addition to providing agnostic automation, RCT was able to work with Barminco to use both the existing underground communications technology and supplement it with the RCT connect to ensure we provide the best and most cost-effective solution for the client. The team also provided extensive operator training to empower site and ensure self-sufficiency with the technology.

Kwok added: “We have a good working relationship with RCT, and this extends beyond just the service delivery and project delivery.

“Outcomes from the project have been positive and we have worked collaboratively with RCT to ensure any operational concerns raised were reviewed and their product offering improved based on our feedback.”

Radcliffe said: “When two companies have the same goal of implementing quality products into a technology focused operation, they will always be successful, and that was certainly the case at Nova.

“We are looking forward to working with Barminco over the coming months to assess the impact that the project has had.”

Ausdrill boosts drilling remit at Sino Iron project

Ausdrill, part of Perenti, has confirmed it will move new drill rigs to CITIC Pacific Mining’s Sino Iron project in the Pilbara of Western Australia as part of an expansion program.

Sino Iron is the largest magnetite mining and processing operation in Australia, 100 km southwest of Karratha. It uses traditional open-pit mining techniques to excavate the ore ahead of an on-site beneficiation process to produce a high grade, premium magnetite concentrate for export from purpose-built facilities at Cape Preston.

Ausdrill says it is currently mobilising one reverse circulation rig and two diamond drill rigs to the project.

“Our experienced team is ready to assist in the large-scale expansion program with an emphasis on ensuring the safe delivery of high-quality samples and maximising recovery within the specified timeline,” it said.

Perenti banks ~A$420M of contract works with Gold Fields, AngloGold and Roxgold

Perenti Limited’s underground mining businesses have been awarded contract extensions valued at circa-A$420 million ($276 million), in three separate projects across Australia and Africa, the company says.

The contract extensions include:

  • A 12-month, circa A$125 million contract extension to continue underground development and production works at the Gold Fields Agnew underground gold mine in Autsralia;
  • A 12-month, circa-A$180 million contract extension at AngloGold Ashanti plc’s Obuasi underground gold mine in Ghana; and
  • A two-year, circa-A$115 million contract extension of existing underground development and production works at the Roxgold Inc Yaramoko underground gold mine in Burkina Faso.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti said: “We pride ourselves on our enduring relationships, so we are especially pleased to be continuing our relationship with these long-term clients. Our Contract Mining division is now led by Gabrielle Iwanow and will continue to focus on safely delivering for our clients and on our strategic objectives. I look forward to providing an update on the business, including the excellent progress we have made on the integration of DDH1, as part of our 1H23 results which will be released to the market in February.”

Gabrielle Iwanow, President Contract Mining, said: “In my first few weeks at Perenti, I have been very impressed with the team’s technical capability and the operational performance that they deliver to our clients. I believe that it is these factors that underpin the strength and depth of our relationships.

“With these contract awards combined with those previously announced, namely circa-A$360 million related to the Sandfire Resources A4 project in Botswana and a further A$111 million related to three Australian surface and underground contract awards, the team has secured nearly A$900 million of revenue for the business. I am very proud to be leading and supporting the Contract Mining team as we collectively work towards delivering our 2025 strategic objectives.”

Gabrielle Iwanow to head up Perenti’s Contract Mining Division

Gabrielle Iwanow has been appointed President of Perenti’s Contract Mining Division, replacing Paul Muller, who will be taking up a new role within the Perenti Group Executive Committee, following a short period of study leave between January and May 2024.

Iwanow is, Perenti says, one of Australia’s leading mining executives with extensive experience working at senior operational and executive levels within the resources sector.

She was also named as one of the Top-100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining in 2020. Her career includes time in senior management positions at ASX 100 listed mining companies OZ Minerals and Rio Tinto, and most recently she was the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Mincor Resources.

Mark Norwell, Perenti Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, said: “A key strategic focus for the group is managing and developing our senior talent across the organisation, ensuring we have robust succession plans in place and continue building capability and capacity within our senior leader cohort, including within the Group Executive Committee.

“Gabrielle’s addition to our Group Executive Committee provides the business with additional depth in talent as we continue to build on our record finanicial year 2023 financial results, transformative acquisition of DDH1, ongoing execution of our 2025 strategy and development of our 2030 strategy.

“I would like to welcome Gabrielle to Perenti and thank Paul for his ongoing contribution to Perenti. This is an exciting time for the business as we continue to deliver on our purpose of creating enduring value and certainty for our clients, investors, our people and the communities in which we operate.”

Mark Norwell on the Perenti mining services differentiator

Perenti continues to make inroads across the mining value chain, reflected of late with the recent acquisition of DDH1, record 2023 financial year results and deployment of some of its initial artificial intelligence-backed solutions from the idoba technology business.

Against this busy backdrop and a keynote address at IMARC in Sydney, IM caught up with Mark Norwell, Managing Director & CEO of Perenti, to talk technology in the mining services space.

IM: The contract mining and mining services business is a very competitive space (especially in Australia). How are you readily leveraging technology for your mining clients as a competitive advantage?

MN: The industry has always been competitive, and that global competition continues to evolve.

I would say Barminco has been at the top of the game for three decades. Having that technical competence, the process, the scale and the people drives competitive advantage in its own right. As we have seen some shift in technology and new technology initiatives, the adoption has added to productivity and, therefore, our competitive advantage has grown again.

In terms of how we are adopting technology, there are a couple of areas to mention.

To come back to Barminco, one aspect has been through deploying point solutions for productivity improvement. This has been ongoing and part of our DNA.

More broadly, when we launched the idoba technology division a few years ago, we took the view that as we see greater shifts and acceleration of technology opportunities in mining, we needed the internal capability to drive that change from the inside out; not from the outside in.

We have the deep domain expertise in mining that, when combined with our technology business, further improves our existing contracting services, as well as creates new potential lines of business.

The differentiator for idoba is the ability to develop products and trial them within our own captive ‘sandpit’. A lot of technology companies don’t have this option. They develop solutions and go to mining companies with a great idea that lacks the evidence of trial data needed for many mining companies to implement the solutions. As a result, the trials never get off the ground. We don’t have that problem given we have operations – and supporting clients with matching values – to allow us to trial products in the field. This has been witnessed of late where we are rolling out some products to test across our underground mines in Australia (idoba recently announced that its Mine Performance Navigator AI-powered decision-support and analysis tool had been rolled out to a dozen underground Barminco-operated mine sites).

IM: In terms of automation, digitalisation/digitisation and electrification, where are you looking to take the lead for your mining clients?

MN: They are all interconnected to some extent. Digitisation, for example, really drives the value from deploying automation and electrification. That digital platform is imperative for mines of the future and is where idoba comes into play.

We want to be at the forefront with digitisation and the digital platform; likewise with electrification.

With our Barminco business, we are one of the world leaders in hard-rock underground mining, and electrification just makes sense for underground hard-rock mines – there are so many benefits. What’s also important is the collaboration associated with that. We heard this week from Perenti, ABB and IGO on the IMARC panel discussion that no-one has all of the capabilities to effectively electrify a mine, so choosing partners is crucial to execution.

Under an agreement between mine owner AngloGold Ashanti, Barminco and Sandvik, the Sunrise Dam gold operation in Western Australia began trialing the prototype 65 t Sandvik TH665B on September 14

When it comes to automation, it is an area we are working through. We have established teleremote and remote operating centres in the recent past – operating multiple machines at remote mine sites from Perth, for example – but, at this stage, we are not accelerating these developments at the same pace as electrification and digitisation due to timing really being of the essence for these two.

Saying that, our work with Sandvik and Newtrax on Level 9 collision intervention is related to this, being a building block of automation more broadly as well as a major game changer from the safety perspective. Once we nail that with a digital platform, we will continue to advance automation more broadly. We are closing in on that with Level 9 collision intervention trials expected to take place in the near term.

When we look at idoba and the work we are doing on DiiMOS (Distributed, Intelligent, Integrated Mining Operating System), we are agnostic to the equipment, the mine planning software and the broader mining processes at play. If we are not agnostic, we could end up locking our clients into one route that potentially ends up destroying value. We are also building out a capability where some clients can pick and choose, or take the full suite, from idoba.

The focus is on providing solutions bespoke to the mine’s needs.

IM: How are you balancing your close relationships with the technology vendors and your own internal technology developments through idoba? Who are the most obvious first customers for the idoba platform?

MN: There is always going to be some overlap and crossover, but we come at this with an operator mindset, where technology can augment this. The OEMs come at it from an equipment mindset with associated technologies to bolt on. The combination and partnership of these two approaches makes sense as you have the equipment, technology and operations covered.

There will be areas where we still have some competition but, ultimately, it is limited.

The full value is going to be generated through how we partner and collaborate with all the companies within the value chain. We have a long history of collaborating with Sandvik, for instance, as well as recent history with ABB, and everyone brings something different to the table. Without that combination of capabilities, we are not going to see the industry shift at the rate it needs to.

Our starting point for idoba will be servicing our current customers as we develop new products and support them on their journey. We will see some clients want more of our solutions than others. As we service our current clients with these, we can take what we have learnt to service new clients. The new clients might be mine operators themselves, where we provide digital solutions as a software-as-a-service. This opens up new potential markets to us, which goes to the broader strategy we set in 2019. This recognises the deep domain expertise we have in mining – which has served us extremely well and is not something everyone has. The plan back then was to leverage this and build out the services beyond that current offering; technology being one of those.

As we develop this new technology, we have learnt that we have the ability to offer lower capital intensity solutions that can serve us well throughout the mining cycles.

IM: Looking at decarbonisation and, more specifically, the agreement you have in place with ABB to ‘reduce the risk and uncertainty of electrifying both green and brownfield operations’; could you talk me through what risk mitigation processes you will be using as part of this? How do you tackle the uncertainty associated with making investments in infrastructure, people and technology against a very ‘fluid’ technology backdrop?

MN: There are a couple of areas that need to be front and centre through that journey. The digital integration platform is one of those – the complexity of what we’re solving for these days is far greater than what we were used to. Whether you are putting in a point solution, or a whole mine to electrify, having a digital platform is critical to making the right decisions at the right time.

As the technology evolves, this digital platform is even more integral to reinforcing decision making. If you go straight to the hardware without the digital backbone and the distributed network of energy needed to electrify, you are setup to fail in the long term.

idoba recently announced that its Mine Performance Navigator AI-powered decision-support and analysis tool had been rolled out to a dozen underground Barminco-operated mine sites

The other aspect that needs consideration from a risk mitigation perspective is having the leadership and culture in place to see these projects through. Leaders have to be ready to unlearn and relearn throughout this process.

Not only that you need to try to engineer out risk wherever possible through critical trials, a strong operational methodology and an assessment of the causal factors of what can go wrong and where those points are within the design. This could be through a traditional engineering methodology or technology adoption.

IM: You set up the Denver office a few years ago now. Outside of Hemlo and Red Chris, what does the pipeline of opportunities look like in North America? Does this client base require a different type of offering to what you traditionally have in Australia?

MN: We’re currently about A$100 million ($64 million) of revenue between those two agreements. We are looking for that to grow to A$400-500 million over the next three to four years. We see the pipeline in Canada and the US as significant. We have also installed the former head of AUMS in this business, looking to replicate the success we had in Africa over eight years in North America.

It’s fair to say the contractor model for Barminco is well understood in Australia and Africa; more so than in North America. In North America, they have a contract model that tends to be based on a charge-by-the-hour type of agreements, whereas we are looking to bring a technical approach to all our contracting.

At the same time as looking to grow this business, we are conscious of growing too quickly. Bringing in a new mining methodology takes a lot of change management. We don’t want to go too quick and have a misstep.

IM: What about ongoing M&A? Are there still gaps in the portfolio you are looking to fill?

MN: In terms of our strategy, we have said we will continue to build our portfolio to leverage our core competency in mining and adjacent areas to add value. We ultimately want a complete portfolio of businesses that have adjacencies to our core businesses.

We are still open to further M&A as long as it leverages our core capabilities and makes sense to our investors.

ABB, IGO and Perenti on collaborating for full mine electrification

An industry panel discussion on the potential of electrifying IGO’s Cosmos underground nickel project at IMARC 2023 today highlighted the opportunities, risks and complexities associated with ‘greening’ a brownfield mining project at the moment.

Back in June, Perenti and ABB, in collaboration, were awarded an inaugural contract by IGO to undertake a study for the full underground electrification of the project, in Western Australia.

This study was to see experts from Perenti and ABB work side by side with IGO to provide a pathway for the optimum design of mine electrification at Cosmos. All aspects of electrification were to be considered in the study, including:

  • Mine design optimisation for electric operations;
  • Production and operating philosophy;
  • Fleet selection;
  • Power distribution and electrical infrastructure design;
  • Electrification system and battery management;
  • ESG and safety impact analysis; and
  • Cost modelling of both capital and operating expenditure.

At IMARC today, on the ‘Going All-Electric: Collaborating to Fully Electrify IGO’s Underground Cosmos Nickel Project’ panel discussion, chaired by Emma Jones, Innovation Management Lead, Southern Hemisphere, GHD, all three companies had representatives on stage to flesh out some of these bullet points, with the result being a fascinating discussion on implementing what is still a revolutionary concept.

The Cosmos study is split into three distinct parts with the companies currently half way through the process.

Both Chris Carr, Head of Technical Services at IGO, and Darren Kwok, Head of Mining Electrification and Technology, Perenti, admitted that the task at hand was highly complex.

Carr said the process would be much easier in a greenfield mine, with the potential ventilation and refrigeration cost reductions that would come with introducing electric machines likely to “pay” for the new equipment required.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the networks and communication would need to be improved to effectively run an all-electric mine to allow operators to know what vehicles had what state of charge and deploying these machines in the optimal way.

“This could potentially see whole sites use Wi-Fi or 5G for better data transmission,” he said. “At the same time, we would know where every vehicle is and where every vehicle is going, providing the opportunity for ‘true’ collision avoidance.”

Kwok said there was likely to be a “flow-down effect” when electrifying equipment, which would have an impact on how mines plan, schedule and operate. “We need a holistic view of a mine,” he said, explaining that “just in time” mining would not work in an all-electric operation where energy management is a key concern.

Kwok added: “We also have to link the fleet together with the rest of the operations – that is the secret sauce here.”

Mehrzad Ashnagaran, Global Product Line Manager – Electrification and Composite Plant, ABB, said any mining company looking to fully electrify their mines needed to recognise that they were working with “immature technology” that cannot meet all of their requirements.

“The design of an all-electric mine is different to the vision we originally had,” he said. “This is why we need to break the process down into manageable projects for a phased approach that can allow customers to start decarbonising now.”

This is where the company’s eMine™ approach comes in, providing a roadmap of solutions on the way to longer-term electrification goals.

“In reality, the solution we are offering today may not be the same one we offer companies in five to 10 years’ time,” he added.

There was also an engaging exchange on the risk management associated with embarking on this exercise.

Ashnagaran said, for ABB, the Cosmos study and other all-electric projects the company is working on would see its vendor agnostic and interoperable approach tested and scrutinised.

“The whole eMine philosophy, however, is that no-one can go on such a journey alone; we need to collaborate with partners,” he said.

Kwok said the study allowed the service provider to learn and understand the terms of how electrified mining can practically work.

“We, at Perenti, already understand what ‘good’ looks like [from an operating perspective]…and we also understand what change looks like at a mine site,” he said, adding that the company already has electric machine data to pull into such studies.

Carr said building ‘the electric mine’ is both a risk and an opportunity, with the mining company prepared to financially back most of the expense associated with this as it had, potentially, the most to gain from a successful outcome.

He also added a bit of wider IGO context to reinforce the point.

“At IGO, we invest A$70 million ($44.5 million) a year on exploration, putting drills into the ground,” he said. “Not all of those holes are deemed a success, but they allow us to keep building our knowledge,”

The same is true for this all-electric Cosmos study.

“Regardless of the outcome, we will learn a lot,” he said. “We are driven to be the ‘first to be first’ here; first to be second simply does not work for us.”

IMARC 2023 organisers preparing for ‘grand slam’ event

The world’s mining and resource leaders are heading to Sydney, New South Wales, for the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) from October 31 – November 2 in what has become a “grand slam” event of the industry, globally, event organisers says.

IMARC Chief Operating Officer, Anita Richards, said this year’s event was looking to be the largest ever, with over 520 speakers from global giants such as BHP, Fortescue, MMG, Gold Fields, Wesfarmers, Worley, Perenti, IGO, the US Departments of Energy and Defense and the ICMM, coming together to collaborate on themes including digital transformation and innovation; sustainability, social value, environmental resilience, people and culture; trade, investment and project opportunities; and energy transition.

She said: “The mining and resources industry is evolving rapidly to meet the growing energy demands of today while developing the minerals needed for a decarbonised economy – under unprecedented scrutiny from communities, regulators and investors.

IMARC 2023 comes at a time when explorers and miners are diversifying portfolios to align with future demand, triggering the highest level of M&A activity across both mining and METS we have ever seen.”

This year’s conference will see the return of the IMARC NextGen Program, which will provide an opportunity for 200 NSW school children to learn about the diverse and exciting mining and resources industry.

IMARC 2023 also features:

  • A special ESG focus on creating social value;
  • An extensive look at First Nations engagement, human rights and transparency;
  • A look at best-practice mine rehabilitation;
  • A global perspectives on heritage and environmental custodianship and economic development;
  • A return of the successful Balance for Better Program which promotes equality, diversity and inclusion across all areas of the mining and resources sector.

Richards added: “Mining and resources have never been more important for sustainable economic, social and innovative development across the globe. We need more exploration and development to match surging demand for the critical minerals that are central to the global energy transition. IMARC 2023 is where the most important conversations are being held about how mining and resources can help achieve global development sustainably and equitably.

“IMARC is a key forum to address these challenges, and the global profile of the event is reflected in delegations already confirmed from India, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Chile, Mongolia, United States, South Korea, Japan, Germany and many more.”

At IMARC 2023 a range of new features have been added to the program. These include the Low Emission Technology Australia session to help accelerate innovation in the clean technology sector, the 4,000 sq.m IMARC Mining Pavilion with over 150 exhibitors present and the final of the Unearthed Global Innovation Games where the winners will be announced and their technology displayed.

IMARC 2023 will take place at the ICC Sydney from October 31 to November 2 and will be a celebration of what has grown into one of Australia’s biggest business events, with a record 8,500 delegates from over 120 countries, including upwards of 50 government delegations expected to attend, organisers say.

International Mining is a media sponsor of IMARC 2023 and will be in Sydney reporting on the event.

Perenti completes DDH1 acquisition, establishes Drilling Services Division

Perenti says the DDH1 Limited scheme of arrangement has been implemented today, with the ASX company now having acquired 100% of the issued share capital of DDH1.

Following the completion of the transaction, Perenti has now become one of the largest drilling services companies globally, increasing growth opportunities for the business and its people.

When the deal was announced back in June, Perenti estimated it would create the ASX’s leading diversified contract mining services company, with a pro forma market capitalisation of circa A$1.3 billion (pre-synergies and potential re-rate), positioning Perenti for potential ASX200 inclusion. Perenti added that 85% of its revenue base will be from production and resource definition (rather than exploration), with the company holding a modern fleet with over 190 rigs from DDH1 and 99 from Perenti – one of the largest drill fleets globally.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti, said Perenti is pleased to welcome the DDH1 team members who are joining the Perenti Group today and looks forward to working together to continue to deliver value and certainty for all our stakeholders.

“The acquisition of DDH1 is a very important milestone in the continued growth and evolution of Perenti, and we are very pleased to welcome the circa 2,000 DDH1 employees, their four highly respected brands of DDH1 Drilling, Strike Drilling, Ranger Drilling and Swick Mining Services along with their expansive client base into the wider Perenti Group. DDH1 leverages and builds on nearly 40 years of drilling expertise that our Ausdrill brand holds, enabling Perenti to establish a stand-alone Drilling Services Division of significant scale and global relevance. Perenti is now one of the largest drilling services contractors globally offering a complete range of underground and surface drilling services, including specialisation in deep directional drilling.

“With the completion of the acquisition, we look forward to demonstrating the significant value proposition that the combination of Perenti and DDH1 can offer to all our stakeholders, and we expect to provide the market with consolidated financial year 2024 guidance in November.”

Perenti books exploration, development and production work with Australian miners

Perenti says it has secured new work and contract extensions with the likes of Regis Resources, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and Catalyst Metal in Australia representing nearly A$150 million ($97 million) of revenue across its 2024 and 2025 financial years.

It has booked a A$70 million, six-month contract for the continuation of underground development and production works at the Regis Resources Garden Well and Rosemont underground gold mines. Barminco and Regis continue to progress collaboratively towards further and material contract extensions at these two mines, it says.

It has also sealed a A$27 million, 24-month contract for exploration surface drilling services at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland, while a A$14 million, 24-month contract has been awarded for underground diamond drilling works at Catalyst Metal’s Plutonic underground gold mine in Western Australia, subject to finalisation of contract terms.

Furthermore, AUMS (through UMA, a joint venture with Rocksure International) received a limited notice to proceed related to the initial underground development works at the Newmont Akyem underground gold mine in Ghana. The finalisation of contractual negotiations continues, however, once finalised it is forecast that the contract could represent circa-A$32 million of revenue over an initial term of 11 months, with a capital structure that is likely to be similar to that adopted for Newmont’s Subika project.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti, said: “The award of these contracts and the limited notice to proceed across both our underground and surface mining businesses demonstrates the diversity of our service offering and the strength of the relationships we share with our clients. Collectively these three contracts and the limited notice to proceed represent nearly A$150 million of revenue across FY2024 and into FY2025 and come after the recent announcement in which Perenti secured circa-A$360 million of revenue at the Sandfire Resources A4 project in Botswana.”