Tag Archives: Primero Group

NRW’s Primero Group awarded major EPC contract for KCGM Growth Project

NRW Holdings says its wholly owned subsidiary Primero Group Limited has entered into an EPC contract with Northern Star Resources Limited for its KCGM Growth Project in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The execution of the engineering, procurement and construction contract follows an extensive program of work to define the scope, cost and schedule, according to NRW. Under the agreement, Primero will be responsible for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the process plant facilities, with the commercial model for delivery an “Incentivised Target Cost”.

The EPC contract has an approximate value of A$973 million ($647 million). The contract is scheduled for completion by the September quarter of 2026.

Last month, Northern Star announced the final investment decision on the KCGM Mill Expansion project, agreeing to invest A$1.5 billion to boost the mill’s capacity to 27 Mt/y, from 13 Mt/y. Included within this is 20 MW grinding mills – the highest powered, gear-driven mills in the world – and the first gear-driven 28 ft (8.5 m) diameter ball mill, according to FLSmidth.

Primero participated in a competitive early contractor involvement (ECI) program from January 2022 and has worked with the Northern Star project team to develop a technically-superior design that will bring operating benefits to the Fimiston processing plant, it says. Following the ECI program, Primero was engaged to undertake further value engineering and scope development.

Primero’s Managing Director, Michael Gollschewski, said: “The execution of the KCGM Growth Project is the culmination of an 18-month journey with Northern Star. The work conducted to date to develop the capital cost, design, execution strategy and schedule for the project, has been one of the most comprehensive and rigorous ECI programs we have participated in. The effort of the combined teams to define this key project has provided a solid foundation for a safe, efficient and successful delivery.”

NRW’s Managing Director, Jules Pemberton, said: “This EPC contract reinforces Primero’s reputation as a leading provider of world class engineering and construction services. This
project showcases Primero’s full range of in-house capability. I look forward to developing a long-term relationship with one of the industry’s leading gold producers.”

TOMRA Mining tech to be used for the world’s largest lithium sorting plant

TOMRA Mining says it is in the process of installing what will be the world’s largest lithium mineral ore sorting plant at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project in Western Australia.

The installation has already started and is expected to reach completion in late 2023.

Pilbara Minerals says it owns the world’s largest, independent hard-rock lithium mine, producing a spodumene and tantalite concentrate. Through its P680 Expansion Project, the company has plans to step-up its production run-rate at the operation to a total of circa-680,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate. The sorting plant is part of this project.

Dale Henderson, Managing Director and CEO, Pilbara Minerals, said: “This new facility to be constructed at our Pilgangoora Project will be the world’s largest lithium mineral ore sorting plant. TOMRA’s experience in large global sorting installations, innovative technology and ability to provide local support were significant factors in our decision to work with them. From the start, the TOMRA team has been working side by side with us and our engineering partner DRA Global to deliver this important project.”

As part of this expansion project, Pilbara Minerals turned to TOMRA Mining for assistance to address the key industry challenge in the processing of spodumene feed ore contaminated with barren host rock.

TOMRA has 50 years’ experience in sensor-based sorting technologies and has designed and built 90% of the world’s large-scale mining sorting plants with a capacity above 300 t/h, it says. These include plants such as the Ma’aden Umm Wu’al project, which is operating at 1,850 t/h and the Lucara diamond operation which runs 15 sorters.

Specifically for the Pilbara Minerals project, TOMRA Mining highlighted that it offered effective ore sorting solutions with high sensor resolution and ejection accuracy that ensure high lithium recovery and waste removal with a stable and consistent performance at high capacity.

The TOMRA Mining team conducted a geological assessment of sample ores supplied by Pilbara Minerals. It revealed the pegmatite deposit did have non-lithium bearing host rock intrusions. Some of these minerals have a high density like that of spodumene, which means that it is also concentrated when using heavy media separation (HMS). This reduces the efficiency of the downstream flotation and contaminates the final product. Sensor-based sorting technologies, on the other hand, can measure the colour, density and mineralogical variations in individual particles, enabling the accurate detection and removal of this barren material, the company explained.

Working closely with the Pilbara Minerals metallurgical team, TOMRA conducted extensive test work at the TOMRA Test Center in Sydney, Australia, to check all the options and answer any questions arising during the tests.

The samples were run at capacity on production sorters and included repeatability and variation testing. The test work benchmarked the expected performance of the sorters and was used to establish the sort quality on each of the ore types that will be fed through the plant.

Primero Group, which was awarded the contract for construction of the project, has now started bulk earthworks for the sorting plant.

The TOMRA team was involved not only in the testing and supply of equipment, but also provided assistance with the plant layout and understanding of the implications of sorting on the upstream mining and downstream process of the ore. This involvement throughout the development process will add to efficient operational ramp-up and technical optimisation.

TOMRA’s capability to support the project with a dedicated Australia-based team and a global support structure has been a significant factor and is an important part of de-risking the installation of this new technology. The team is working closely with Pilbara Minerals through the installation process, commissioning and start-up, and will continue to provide on-site support once the sorting plant is up and running.

NRW’s Primero to work on Pilgangoora P680 Expansion Project

NRW Holdings subsidiary, Primero Group, has been awarded a contract by Pilgangoora Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pilbara Minerals Limited, for work at the lithium processing plant that is part of the wider Pilgangoora operation, in Western Australia.

The works to be performed under the contract include upgrading the existing Pilgan lithium processing plant through the construction of a new primary rejection facility and preliminary work in connection with a new crushing and ore sorting facility.

Under the contract, Primero will be responsible for detailed earth and concrete works associated with both the primary rejection and crushing and sorting facilities, together with structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation installation associated with the primary rejection facility. Primero will also assist with shutdown, brownfield’s integration and commissioning support to tie the facility into the existing Pilgan plant.

The contract is scheduled to run for approximately eight months, commencing in January 2023, and has an approximate value of A$62 million ($44 million).

NRW Managing Director, Jules Pemberton, said: “This contract builds on a long-term association between POPL and Primero that began with Primero’s involvement in the design and construction of the original Pilgan plant. We look forward to the successful completion of these works.”

The construction activities due to take place on the plant are part of the wider P680 Expansion Project Pilbara Minerals is working on. This could see the company step-up its production run-rate at the operation to a total of circa-680,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate across the combined Pilgangoora operation.

NRW Holdings’ Primero to operate and maintain Finniss lithium processing plant

NRW Holdings Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Primero Group, has executed a long term contract for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of Core Lithium’s processing plant and related infrastructure at its Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Under the terms of the contract, Primero will operate and maintain the processing and infrastructure facilities at Finniss for an initial term of five years, with option to extend.

The estimated value of the contract is A$60 million ($38 million), and follows on from the current contract in execution for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of Finniss, awarded to Primero in September 2021.

The O&M contract signed between Core Lithium and Primero highlights the unparalleled industry expertise and proven track record in lithium processing and operational excellence outcomes, NRW said.

“Primero continues to grow its portfolio of contract operation and maintenance services across the base and battery metals sectors with a strong track record of delivery and giving customers assurance of safe outcomes, accelerated plant ramp-up, ongoing operational excellence practices, and continuous improvement to achieve cost effective and optimised production outcomes,” it added.

Primero says it has the majority of key personnel on hand for deployment into the contract commencing from October 2022 and expects to complete all remaining recruitment and operational readiness activities by December 2022, ready for first production.

NRW CEO, Jules Pemberton, said: “The diversification of the Primero business into longer term operational contracts is continuing to grow with this award showcasing the depth and operational knowledge of the group, especially within the battery minerals sector. The capability to develop and operate assets of this nature is well aligned with the group’s strategy over the coming years and will continue to evolve with build own operate and equity style investments in projects. We look forward to a long-term relationship with Core Lithium.”

In mid-2021, Core released a definitive feasibility study for the Finniss project, marking a major milestone in its goal to become Australia’s next major lithium producer by the end of 2022.

The study highlighted an average production of 173,000 t/y of high-quality lithium concentrate at a C1 operating cost of $364/t and a start-up capital cost of A$89 million ($56 million) thanks to the incorporation of a 1 Mt/y DMS processing plant in the project’s design.

Primero bags Finniss lithium process plant EPC contract

Core Lithium has awarded Primero Group with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Finniss lithium process plant in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Primero’s award status has been updated from the initial preferred status awarded in 2019 and continues the long-standing relationship in the development of the project with the Core Lithium team and follows on from the successful delivery of Core’s definitive feasibility study and subsequent study updates, NRW Holdings, the parent company of Primero, says.

The project will commence immediately and is fully funded with site works planned to commence in March 2022 with commissioning of the facility due to commence in October 2022, according to NRW.

Primero’s work on the Finniss dense media separation (DMS) plant will entail project management; engineering and detailed design; equipment and materials procurement; DMS plant construction; quality assurance and construction verification, and ore commissioning on receipt of first ore, according to Core.

Primero Managing Director, Cameron Henry, says: “The Primero brand is synonymous with the processing and operation of battery metals and future energy and the Core Lithium project is another example of the quality of our processing knowledge in these industries. The working relationship with the Core team has been a four-year journey and we look forward to delivering on this contract and continuing the relationship with Core.”

NRW CEO, Jules Pemberton, added: “The NRW Holdings business continues to diversify its business streams into the future metals and energy space with another great award to the Primero Group team in the electric vehicle space with Core Lithium.”

The August definitive feasibility study on Finniss outlined a Stage 1 mine life of eight years with average production of 173,000 t/y at 5.8% Li2O.

NRW’s METS business takes flight with Primero’s latest contract awards

The first build own operate (BOO) contract initiatives, and the first major engineering, procurement, site support and commissioning contract in West Africa are some of the highlights from Primero Group’s latest contract awards.

The company, acquired by NRW Holdings earlier this year, has recently been awarded new contracts totalling circa-A$155 million ($114 million) with key clients. It has also progressed strategic initiatives that provide further strength to the group offering within the newly formed Minerals, Energy and Technology (METS) business under the NRW Holdings banner, NRW said. RCR Mining Technologies and DIAB Engineering also feature under the METS business.

“These include the award of the group’s BOO contract initiatives crystalising the strategic direction deployed by the group to enter the market of ownership and operation of processing infrastructure,” it said. “The equipment is designed, fabricated and constructed internally utilising the METS division companies and focuses on enabling the infrastructure to be relocatable, in alignment with other material handling products already being offered by the group.”

Primero has been awarded two key contracts with Mt Gibson Iron. The first is for the upgrade of the Koolan Island crushing circuit under an engineering and construction contract off the coast of Western Australia. The second is a two-year fixed crushing contract at the Shine development project in the Mid-West region of Western Australia under a BOO arrangement, with an option to extend.

Also, in the iron ore space and Western Australia, Primero has been awarded a four-year contract for crushing services at Atlas Iron’s proposed Miralga Creek operation in the Pilbara region. The contract provides crushing services for 2 Mt/y under a BOO scenario and will commence in early 2022.

In West Africa, meanwhile, Primero has secured its first major engineering, procurement, site support and commissioning contract for the Abujar gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, owned by Tietto Minerals. “The project award demonstrates the groups continuing growth and maturity in minerals processing engineering execution and diversity in capability across multiple commodities in the group,” NRW said.

The project is at a 3.5 Mt/y throughput scale with most of the contract revenue to be recognised in NRW’s 2022 financial year.

Back in Western Australia, meanwhile, Primero has been awarded the Mt Holland water supply pipeline construction contract from Covalent Lithium. The project follows on from the design services that Primero was awarded in October 2020 and completed including detailed construction planning and methodology for the 130 km pipeline and associated pumping facilities.

Site construction works have commenced, and the project is scheduled for completion in the March quarter of 2022.

As an updated note, Primero confirms the previously announced letter of intent with Panoramic Resources for the contract operations of the Savannah Nickel project has been finalised into a binding contract with a term of three years, as per Panoramic announcement dated April 6, 2021.

Work has already commenced in the preparation and operational readiness for the recommencement of the concentrator operations in-line with the announced restart plan of the mine in the September quarter with first shipments planned in December.

NRW CEO, Jules Pemberton, said: “The ongoing development of the METS pillar of the NRW Holdings Group is continuing to provide further success and market penetration within key client groups in our sector. Primero, as the newest addition to that group, has added significant capability and these recent contract awards showcase the diversity, capability and the expanding capacity of the group across multiple commodities and services.”

thyssenkrupp rail-mounted stacker handed over to BHP South Flank

thyssenkrupp says it has handed over the world’s largest rail-mounted stacker to its client BHP for the South Flank iron ore development in Western Australia,

The first stacker among a “trio of giants”, ST-04 took more than three years of research and design development in six countries, and two years of significant local fabrication, construction and commissioning processes, thyssenkrupp said.

Over the next few months, it will gradually ramp up its operating capacity of 20,000 t/h.

The engineering company was awarded this contract − one of its largest ever fabrication and construction projects in Western Australia − by BHP back in late 2018.

Under the €150 million ($181 million) contract, thyssenkrupp was to supply two stackers that deposit iron ore into stockyards for loading, and a reclaimer for loading the ore onto trains for transport to Port Hedland. The machines’ capacity of 20,000 t/h made them the largest rail-mounted stackers and reclaimers in the world, according to the company.

Primero has been helping thyssenkrupp in this pursuit, carrying out pre-assembly of the machines at its Australian Marine Complex, in Henderson, Western Australia.

In BHP’s half year results to December 31 released earlier this week, it said South Flank remained on budget and on track to deliver first production by mid-2021. The company expects the operation to ramp up to 80 Mt/y of output, helping replace production from the existing Yandi mine, which is reaching the end of its economic life.

Primero completes WHIMS project at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek iron ore op

Primero Group says it has completed the construction of a Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation (WHIMS) processing plant at Fortescue Metals Group’s Christmas Creek iron ore mine in Western Australia.

The plant is expected to improve product grade and mass recovery from the desands unit at the Christmas Creek Ore Process Facility #2.

The flowsheet is based on a simple and robust configuration, where wet screen undersize at a nominal -1 mm is treated in open circuit through a low intensity magnetic stage, followed by a vertical WHIMS stage to produce a concentrate stream and a tailings stream, which can be integrated with the existing process and auxiliary equipment. The vertical WHIMS project entails the redirection of the wet screen undersize stream from the existing scrubbing circuit to feed the brownfield magnetic separation plant.

“We can proudly say that despite the impacts of COVID-19 and the fast-tracked nature of the project, the plant was successfully delivered and commissioned in less than 12 months – meeting all safety and project key performance indicators,” the company said.

Primero put the project’s success down partly to the “enhanced opportunity for collaboration early contractor involvement (ECI) provides”.

It added: “A flexible approach to project development that ensures the needs of all project stakeholders can be met prior to detailed design and implementation in a lump sum engineering procurement and construction (EPC) environment. This constructive, relationship-based contracting continued throughout construction, commissioning and now operation – demonstrating the power of the ECI contracting model when coupled with Primero’s unique, vertically integrated EPC capability.”

RCR and Primero Group to deliver crushing and conveying system for Fortescue

RCR Mining Technologies and Primero Group are to work together on delivering a primary crushing plant (PCP) and overland conveyor (OLC) for the Queens project at Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon Hub operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

RCR, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRW Holdings, was awarded the A$80 million ($61.8 million) contract by Fortescue, with Primero being sub-contracted a A$30 million package to provide engineering support and construction services for the PCP and OLC.

RCR previously delivered the Hopper 9 Crushing Facility at Fortescue’s Cloudbreak mine, with the latest award “strategically significant for the business as it showcases our engineering-led delivery of innovative solutions”.

Civil construction and earthworks will be undertaken by NRW’s Civil division, while RCR and DIAB Engineering, together with Primero, “bring a very strong design, manufacture and construction capability to this project with an engineering-led philosophy of solutions and innovation”, NRW said.

NRW Holdings is in the middle of trying to take over Primero following a cash and shares bid that values Primero at A$100 million.

Alltype Engineering gassed up in Western Australia

WestStar Industrial’s engineering construction contracting business, Alltype Engineering, has been awarded contracts to a total value of circa-A$8 million ($6 million) across multiple clients and projects, including A$5 million of contracts in gas transmission.

APA Group has contracted Alltype to deliver multiple gas offtake and metering facility projects throughout the Midwest region of Western Australia. These turnkey multidiscipline projects involve civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation scopes, both workshop and site, with remote area working conditions and logistics and eight off-workshop fabricated gas skids to be completed off site.

Included in the projects are a gas lateral offtake and metering station for the Beyondie sulphate of potash project (pictured), a gas lateral offtake and metering project for the Lakeway SO4 potash project, and gas lateral offtake and metering work for Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold project.

WestStar is also scheduled to build a gas lateral metering station for Primero Group at the Kalium Lakes potash project.

WestStar said: “These newly awarded contracts for Alltype continue to demonstrate its strength and reliability in working successfully with APA and the Australian gas industry, including both upstream and downstream projects.

“Furthermore, having fabricated, assembled and FAT tested over 20 modularised gas skid process packages in the last two years, Alltype continue to leverage off this experience and knowhow to fast track aggressive timeline projects with full supply chain control.”

Alltype has commenced the works for APA Group, which are planned to be completed by the March quarter of 2021.

In addition to this work, Alltype says it was awarded its first contract from Newmont at the Boddington gold mine, also in Western Australia. This contract had an aggressive timeline for completion of urgent fabricated plate and piping componentry for a shutdown, which was achieved. The balance of works is in the process of being completed, it noted.

Still in Western Australia, Alltype says it continues to provide goods and services for the three major iron ore developments in the Pilbara, being BHP South Flank, Rio Tinto Gudai-Darri and FMG’s majority-owned Iron Bridge project.