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Indigenous business First Nation Engineering completes first contract with Northern Star

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First Nation Engineering Pty Ltd (FNE) is celebrating the completion of its first contract, providing engineering design and procurement services to Northern Star Resources Ltd in relation to borefields expansions at the miner’s Thunderbox, Carosue Dam and KCGM Operations, in Western Australia.

FNE is a registered Supply Nation Indigenous business, an incorporated joint venture between a subsidiary of the Carey Group — one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal commercial enterprise, with over 27 years of project delivery excellence in the mining, civil and training industries — and CPC Engineering — which began in the Goldfields more than 50 years ago and now offers end-to-end mining and infrastructure services for clients state-wide.

FNE is the first Indigenous company to offer comprehensive design, construction and maintenance services across the resources, energy and agricultural sectors, it says, with the joint venture launched a year ago at the 2022 Diggers and Dealers conference, in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

FNE Chief Executive Officer, Moses Panashe, said: “FNE is pleased to have partnered with Northern Star on this project. My hope is that we will continue to work with Northern Star in the future, and that this is just the beginning.

“The other benefit is that under the terms of the joint venture, a percentage of profits from First Nation Engineering projects are set aside for special purpose programs such as Indigenous scholarships.”

Carey Group is involved in Aboriginal training, employment and community programs.

Northern Star’s KCGM Operations General Manager, Kous Kirsten, said Northern Star was “committed to establishing sustainable supply contracts with Indigenous businesses across the Company’s Australian Operations”.

Kirsten added: “Northern Star recognises the value Indigenous businesses create within our supply chain, and the benefits they generate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and local economies. Northern Star looks forward to developing many other opportunities to engage First Nation Engineering.”

SRG Global banks A$220 million of work with Northern Star in Western Australia

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SRG Global says it has secured significant contracts with Northern Star Resources Limited worth some A$220 million ($157 million).

This includes a new five-year drill and blast services, explosives management and grade control drilling contract at its Bronzewing gold operations in Western Australia, along with a two-year contract extension covering the same scope with Northern Star at its Thunderbox and Carosue Dam gold operations, also in Western Australia.

The latter is an extension on the initial five-year contract SRG signed with Saracen Mineral Holdings (the previous owner of the assets) back in 2020.

David Macgeorge, SRG Global Managing Director, said: “SRG is extremely pleased to have secured both the new five-year contract at Bronzewing and the two-year contract extensions at Thunderbox and Carosue Dam. I am very proud of our Mining Services team for their hard work supporting Northern Star’s operations at the Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Thunderbox, Carosue Dam and now the Bronzewing gold operations in WA.”

RME supplies Northern Star’s Thunderbox mine with 500th Mill Relining Machine

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In what it says is a major milestone, Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) has designed and completed production of its 500th Mill Relining Machine (MRM) for Australia-based gold producer Northern Star Resources Ltd.

This custom-made RUSSELL MRM will be accepted by Northern Star at a ceremony at RME’s global headquarters in Toowoomba, Queensland, this month. This MRM will service Northern Star’s new SAG mill at its Thunderbox project in the Goldfields of Western Australia.

RME and Northern Star began their relationship at the Kanowna Belle Operations, some 30 years ago with the purchase of RUSSELL MRM number five (MRM005). Northern Star owns six RUSSELL MRMs, including the 400th RUSSELL MRM, commissioned in 2018 at Kanowna Belle. Thismachine replaced a RUSSELL MRM that had been in operation at Kanowna Belle for 25 years.

The 500th RUSSELL MRM is a RUSSELL 7-axis, 6,000-kg capacity machine. The RUSSELL 7 is RME’s signature model sold globally, and this unit also comes with advanced RME INSIDEOUT™ technologies. These proprietary new technologies, developed by RME, enable placement and removal of grinding mill liners without any crew working on the charge inside the mill, greatly reducing exposure of personnel to significant hazards, the company says.

Since the introduction of the very first RUSSELL 7-axis MRM in 1992, traditional mill relining times have been quartered and many health and safety hazards have been eliminated, RME says.
Chief Customer Officer, Cherylyn Russell, says RME is a proud supplier to the hard-rock mining and mineral processing industry, primarily those processing gold and copper.

“This milestone is a chance to acknowledge the technology and safety advances of the RME Mill Relining System that enable giant grinding mills to get back to work quicker after regular relining,” she said. “Mill relining is the most specialised maintenance task in the mineral concentrator process and often dictates the length of shutdowns. RME’s innovative, customised, robust equipment helps increase mine site profitability, all while improving the safety of the working environment.”

Metso Outotec set for SAG mill Premier at Northern Star’s Thunderbox

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Metso Outotec says it will deliver a high-capacity, high-powered Premier™ SAG mill to Northern Star Resources Limited’s Thunderbox gold mine expansion project in Western Australia.

The typical value of such a delivery is approximately €15 million ($17.7 million) depending on the final scope, according to the OEM. The order has been booked in the company’s Minerals’ first half of 2021 orders received.

On award of Northern Star Resources’ largest mill to date, Northern Star’s General Manager Processing, Simon Tyrrell, said: “The Thunderbox expansion increases the operation’s hard-rock processing capacity to 6 Mt per annum from the current 3 Mt/a, and decreases processing costs as outlined in our 2021 Investor Day Presentation.

“Northern Star’s selection of Metso Outotec for the mill supply is supported by their locally-based expertise, large mill supply history and ongoing collaboration with Northern Star.”

Earlier this month, GR Engineering Services executed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Northern Star Resources in relation to the expansion project.

Christoph Hoetzel, Head of Grinding Business Line at Metso Outotec, said: “We are pleased to be chosen as a supplier for the Thunderbox expansion. The gear-driven Premier SAG mill to be delivered will feature 18 MW of motor power.

“With the Premier mill range, we advance our unrivaled innovation legacy providing our customers with most reliable technology, engineered to exceed their specific requirements. We are looking forward to continue the collaboration with Northern Star Resources and to be part of their success story.”

The Premier horizontal grinding mills are customisable solutions built on state-of-the-art grinding mill technology, process expertise and design capability, the company says. The Premier horizontal grinding mills are engineered to “excel and create vast possibilities” for customers and applications.

These mills can be integrated with Metso Outotec mill reline equipment and are supported by the company’s extensive services network to ensure optimisation during the mills’ lifetime, the company says.

GR Engineering to help double processing capacity at NSR’s Thunderbox

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GR Engineering Services says it has executed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Northern Star Resources in relation to the Thunderbox 6 Mt/y expansion project in Western Australia.

Located 45 km south of Leinster, the Thunderbox operations currently have a 3 Mt/y processing capacity. The asset was owned by Saracen Mineral Holdings prior to a merger with Northern Star.

The works will involve the design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the project, with the contract sum amounting to A$101 million ($74.3 million) and work is expected to start immediately.

GR Engineering has carried out several projects on the Thunderbox operations, including EPC work on the Thunderbox paste plant work, which has seen a new 150 cu.m paste backfill plant built.

Commenting on the recent award, Geoff Jones, GR Engineering Managing Director, said: “GR Engineering is excited to continue working with Northern Star, one of the world’s leading gold producers, to safely deliver the Thunderbox Expansion project. We have worked with the Northern Star team over many years and see this award as a strong endorsement of our proven EPC delivery capability.”

On award of Northern Star’s largest infrastructure project to date, Northern Star’s General Manager Processing, Simon Tyrrell, said: “The Thunderbox expansion increases the operation’s hard-rock processing capacity to 6 Mt/y from the current 3 Mt/y, and decreases processing costs as outlined in the 2021 Investor Day Presentation. Northern Star is pleased to be working with GR Engineering again, a local company with vast project delivery experience in the Australian mining industry.”

In this same presentation, the company said the processing capacity boost would involve the addition of a new 18 MW mill and classification circuit; new leach tanks, elution and gold room upgrades; and new tailing thickener and tailings pumping. The plant would be designed for 100% fresh ore, NSR said.

GR Engineering to build paste plant at Saracen’s Thunderbox operation

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GR Engineering Services has been awarded additional work by Saracen Mineral Holdings at the Thunderbox and Carosue Dam gold operations in Western Australia.

The contract additions, which have a combined value of A$29 million ($19.9 million), include an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Thunderbox Paste Plant project and an approved variation of the Carosue Dam Operations Plant Expansion project.

The Thunderbox paste plant work will involve the design, supply installation and commissioning of a new 150 m3/h paste backfill plant at Thunderbox. The project includes work at the existing Thunderbox operations’ (pictured) processing facility along with works at a new remote paste plant location. The contract price is A$22 million. GR Engineering says work will start immediately and is expected to complete in the first half of 2021.

At Carosue Dam, meanwhile, GR Engineering has been awarded a variation under the existing contract to install a paste pump at the Karari Paste Plant to distribute paste to the Whirling Dervish underground mine. The value of the variation is A$7 million.

These additions come on the back of being awarded a contract to carry out the engineering design, procurement and construction of expansion works on Saracen’s mineral processing plant at Carosue Dam, in November.

GR Engineering’s Managing Director, Geoff Jones, said: “GR Engineering has now worked with Saracen on three key projects in the last two years and we look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with one of Australia’s leading gold producers.”

Pacific Energy to expand Saracen’s Carosue Dam dual-fuelled power station

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Pacific Energy’s KPS subsidiary has signed contract variations for two power generation agreements with Saracen Mineral Holdings that will see the dual-fuelled power station at the Carosue Dam operation, in Western Australia, expanded at the same time as work is extended at the gold miner’s gas-fired power facility at the Thunderbox operation.

The Carosue Dam expansion will occur in two stages over the next 12 months, initially by 2 MW and subsequently by another 6 MW, to a total of 26 MW. The contract term will also be extended from January 2023 to August 2024, Pacific Energy said.

Carosue Dam will soon undergo a mill expansion from 2.4 Mt/y to 3.2 Mt/y with feed coming from both underground and open-pit mines.

The contract for the 17 MW gas fired power station at the Thunderbox site will be extended from November 2020 to August 2024, meanwhile.

Pacific Energy’s total contracted capacity now stands at 381 MW and the weighted average remaining contract duration is approximately four years, the company noted.

Pacific Energy’s Managing Director, James Cullen, said: “Saracen is a key and substantial customer for us, representing around 12% of build-own-operate revenues, so these awards are very material and important to us. We look forward to continuing the sound relationship that has been built over the years and completing the installations of additional capacity at Carosue Dam.”