Tag Archives: Robe Valley

Decmil Group bolsters Rio Robe Valley iron ore work

Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

Decmil Group says it has secured a A$30 million ($22 million) contract from Rio Tinto to design and construct heavy vehicle (HV) and light vehicle (LV) facilities at the Mesa J iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The scope of the works includes the design and construction of a site laydown area, HV wash facility, mobile equipment maintenance workshop, bulk lube storage facility, and HV and LV tyre change facilities, it said.

Additionally, Decmil will deconstruct the existing HV wash facility and existing bulk lube storage facility at Mesa J. The contract is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2021.

Decmil CEO, Dickie Dique, said the contract award was a testament to the company’s ability to capitalise on a buoyant iron ore and magnetite market.

“We have now won two contracts with Rio Tinto in the space of a month, and, in September, we secured a A$41 million contract at the Iron Bridge magnetite project,” Dique said. “This validates our enhanced strategic focus on utilising our core capabilities to target a significant tender pipeline with blue chip customers in the resources sector.”

The Mesa J mine is part of the Robe Valley hub, which is owned by the Robe River Joint Venture. Rio Tinto has a 53% stake in the JV and is operator of Robe Valley, which has two iron ore producing mines in Mesa A and Mesa J.

On October 23, 2020, Decmil announced it was awarded an A$8.7 million contract from Rio Tinto to design and construct a laboratory facility at Mesa A.

UGL banks A$200 million of work from Rio Tinto, Roy Hill and BHP

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

UGL says it has secured several construction and maintenance contracts with Rio Tinto, Roy Hill and BHP with a combined value of more than A$200 million ($143 million).

The contracts will be executed over a multi-year period, providing mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and access services for maintenance, shutdowns and sustaining capital projects, the CIMIC Group subsidiary said.

The contracts include civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, communications and instrumentation work for Rio Tinto at the Mesa J PP2 Rescreening Plant in Western Australia. The project, part of Rio’s Robe Valley Sustaining iron ore project, will see around 160 people employed. Works will commence immediately and continue until September 2021, UGL says.

Also with Rio Tinto, UGL has secured a contract extension for scheduled major shutdown services at Rio Tinto’s Gove alumina refinery, in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Back in the Pilbara, UGL will install a run of mine crusher and materials handling circuit for Roy Hill’s iron ore operation. Comprising supply, structural, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works, the project will employ some 100 people, it said.

Lastly, the company was appointed to BHP’s engineering services panel to provide civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation and rail services for shutdowns and sustaining capital projects across BHP’s Western Australian iron ore mine site and port operations, and rail facilities in the Pilbara.

CIMIC Group Chief Executive Officer, Juan Santamaria, said: “These contracts are demonstration of UGL’s 30 years of experience in building partnerships with leading mining companies and delivering solid performance of maintenance and shutdown services.”

UGL Managing Director, Jason Spears, added: “These new contracts and contract extensions highlight UGL’s capabilities in the mining sector and expand on our strong relationships with our clients. We look forward to carrying out these contracts in a safe and reliable manner.”

Scott Technology wins sample prep and analysis lab contract from Rio at Robe Valley

Automation, Environmental, IoT, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Scott Technology has been awarded a further multi-million dollar contract by Rio Tinto to provide and commission the equipment for a new sample preparation and analysis laboratory at the Robe Valley iron ore mine site in Western Australia.

This is the second significant iron ore sample laboratory project awarded to Scott Technology by Rio Tinto in 2020, building on the inaugural order for an automated lab at the Koodaideri project.

The automation and robotics solutions provider said this latest contract builds on the decades-long relationship between the two businesses and Scott’s expertise and experience in this area.

The Robe Valley project scope comprises equipment from Scott Technology’s Rocklabs business as well as third-party supply. Work has begun on the development and planning for the new laboratory, which is expected to commence operation in June 2021.

Rio’s majority-owned Robe Valley operation produces ore from mines at the Mesa A hub and Mesa J hub, with coarse ore from both processed to lump and fines in the process plant at Cape Lambert.

John Kippenberger, CEO of Scott Technology (pictured), said: “Scott has demonstrated success at many iron ore mine site laboratories in recent years, with our Rocklabs crushers and mills providing safe, reliable, productive operation for our clients. We are excited to be working with the Rio Tinto team on another important mining laboratory project.

“This comes on the back of the positive Rio Tinto Koodaideri project work, which is currently underway and also in Western Australia. As recently announced, building work and site mobilisation has commenced at Koodaideri, in line with the original timetable.

“This latest contract award further cements Scott’s evolution in the mining sector from a world leading supplier of sample preparation equipment, to a complete end-to-end automation and analysis solution provider.”

Kippenberger said the iron ore sector was continuing to experience positive interest and investment in automation given the underlying strength in demand for the steel raw material, which boded well for the company picking up more contracts.

“We see an increasing opportunity for our business, for more projects of the same scale with both existing and new customers as they seek increased safety and greater productivity,” he added.

The Robe Valley is around 140 km southwest of Karratha in the Pilbara region, with the Robe Valley deposits owned by the Robe JV, which is 53% owned by Rio Tinto, 33% by Mitsui Iron Ore Development and 14% by Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metals Corp.

The primary requirement of the Robe Valley Sustaining Project is to sustain production from the Robe Valley from the year 2020.

Civmec mobilises personnel for Rio Tinto Mesa A contract work

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Civmec Ltd has added another work package on a major iron ore development to its books, with Rio Tinto awarding it a contract to help further develop its Mesa A operational hub in the Robe Valley of Western Australia.

The package comprises the supply, fabrication, modularisation, transportation to site, erection, modification, installation, and commissioning of structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation, and communication work for the Mesa A Wet Plant, it says. Components include screening, surge bin and scrubbing facilities and associated conveyor systems, transfer towers, sub stations and all piping and cabling, including trenching for underground services.

Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley Sustaining iron ore project, in the Pilbara region, includes the development of three new mining deposits and the construction of supporting infrastructure required to continue operations of the two existing operational hubs at Mesa A and Mesa J. The project is part of the company’s plans to sustain production capacity at its Robe River joint venture.

Civmec’s contract award follows similar agreements with Fortescue Metals Group on the Eliwana project and a contract to fabricate and modularise key components for BHP’s South Flank project, both of which are also in the Pilbara.

Civmec Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Tallon, said: “Rio Tinto has always been a good client for us and we have a long history of supporting the safe, high quality and timely delivery of their projects in Western Australia and Queensland, across construction, manufacturing and maintenance.”

Fabrication, to be undertaken at the group’s Henderson facility, will employ around 200 people and will commence in the coming weeks, Civmec said. The on-site structural, mechanical and piping component will require some 240 people to mobilise to site at the peak of the project in the latter part of this year, while the electrical discipline will require some 100 people in early 2021.

Civmec’s relationship with Rio Tinto is not limited to new development projects, the company says. It extends across other Rio Tinto sites, with the group’s maintenance division continually supplying services to its operations.

The award of this significant construction project, combined with recent work orders for the maintenance division from Rio Tinto, have a combined value of circa-A$165 million ($106 million), with the group’s order book now standing at around A$895 million, Civmec said.

Rio increases scope of Primero work at Koodaideri, Robe Valley

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Primero says it has been awarded variation extensions to contracts it already has in place with Rio Tinto at the in-development Koodaideri iron ore project and the Robe Valley iron ore operations, both in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The multi-disciplinary engineering and contracting firm said the extensions have a combined value of around A$20 million ($12.3 million).

The variations awarded under the Mesa K (Robe Valley) contract reflect additional civil works at the Mesa J PP2 (process plant 2) wet processing facility, currently being developed as part of Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley sustaining projects, Primero said.

Back in October 2018, Rio, together with joint venture partners Mitsui and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, approved an investment of $1.55 billion to sustain production capacity at two projects forming part of the Robe River joint venture, which also includes Robe Valley.

The additions to the Koodaideri contract, meanwhile, reflect additional “options selections” that have now been confirmed and included for implementation, according to Primero.

Construction on Koodaideri Phase 1 started in 2019 with first production expected in late 2021. Once complete, the $2.6 billion mine will have an annual capacity of 43 Mt, underpinning production of the company’s flagship iron ore product, Pilbara Blend.

Primero Group secured a A$115 million contract with Rio Tinto’s iron ore division to design, fabricate, supply, deliver, construct, install, test and commission the Mine Infrastructure Area and associated facilities at Koodaideri back in late 2019.

The Mesa J works (under the Mesa K contract) are expected to be completed in 2020, Primero said. The additional Koodaideri works are planned to be completed in-line with the original contracted time frame of mid 2021.