Tag Archives: Tom Price

Rio Tinto bolsters HP Series cone crusher contingent with Metso order

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Rio Tinto has awarded Metso an order for 10 HP Series cone crushers to be installed at the company’s Tom Price iron ore mine in Western Australia, the OEM says.

This order follows the initial award of six HP series cone crushers in late 2022. The crushers in the initial order are currently being delivered to the Paraburdoo iron ore mine and another Pilbara mine.

“The HP500™ cone crushers will replace the long-serving Symons cone crushers,” Julius Mäkelä, Vice President, Mid-size and Mobile Crushers at Metso, explains. “The compact and versatile HP Series crushers are a step change in the crushing process, enabling maximum operator safety and easy maintenance as the key components can be accessed from the top of the crushers. They provide a more sustainable solution, delivering high output with decreased energy consumption despite their smaller size. Additionally, the new crushers feature an option for digitising the operation.”

The compact size of the HP500 cone crusher is well suited as a replacement for Symons crushers, Metso says. The HP500 is used in aggregates production, quarrying applications and mining operations worldwide.

Monadelphous banks work with Rio Tinto, BHP, BMA and South32

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Engineering company Monadelphous Group Limited says it has secured new contracts and contract extensions totalling approximately A$120 million ($83 million), banking work with Rio Tinto, BHP and South32, among others.

The company has secured two contracts with Rio Tinto under its Sustaining Capital Projects Panel Agreement to undertake upgrades to the conveyor gravity take-up systems at Tom Price and Cape Lambert Port A in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

In addition, Monadelphous has been successful in securing a further three-year Framework Agreement for BHP’s Western Australian Iron Ore Asset Projects providing multidisciplinary works to BHP’s operations in the Pilbara region.

In Queensland, the company says it has secured a three-year contract with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), with two one-year extension options, to continue providing shutdown and maintenance services and minor capital projects on BMA’s draglines and coal preparation plant operations in the Bowen Basin.

Finally, Monadelphous has been awarded a 12-month contract extension for the supply of major shutdown and mechanical services at South32’s Worsley Alumina operations in Western Australia.

Duratec to carry out structural works at Rio Tinto Pilbara ops

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Australian engineering, construction and remediation contractor Duratec Limited says it has been awarded A$34 million ($24 million) in Master Service Agreement (MSA) projects with Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a Rio Tinto subsidiary.

These projects consist of the structural integrity remediation at the Tom Price operation (A$18 million) and the structural integrity remediation at East Intercourse Island (A$16 million), both of which are projects that require Duratec’s specialist service offering, it says.

These contracts also demonstrate the company’s strategic growth into annuity contracts within the resources sector.

These notable project awards, coupled with a record high level of enquiry into Duratec’s service offering through its Pilbara, Goldfields, Northern Territory and Queensland Mining & Industrial operations, have contributed to Duratec’s Mining & Industrial (M&I) orderbook strengthening to A$124 million, it said.

Duratec’s Managing Director, Phil Harcourt, said: “It is pleasing to see the company’s efforts to strengthen its orderbook by targeting opportunities with key repeat clients in the M&I segment being rewarded. M&I now represents 23% of the company’s overall orderbook, which will ensure it is positioned strongly for the current financial year and beyond – in line with the business strategy.”

Monadelphous banks Australia work with FMG, Rio Tinto, Roy Hill and BMA

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Engineering company Monadelphous Group Limited says it has secured new contracts and contract extensions in the resources and infrastructure sectors totalling approximately A$220 million ($150 million).

Within this is a number of contracts for work in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including:

  • A five-year contract to provide maintenance, repairs, general shutdown services and minor projects across Fortescue Metals Group’s Pilbara operations;
  • A multi-disciplinary contract with Rio Tinto for the construction of a new conveyor at the Tom Price iron ore mine, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023; and
  • A contract associated with the construction of a pipeline and access road at the Roy Hill Mine site. The work is expected to be completed towards the end of 2022.

In Queensland, Monadelphous has also secured a 12-month extension to its existing contract with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance for the provision of dragline shutdown and maintenance services to its operations in the Bowen Basin.

NRW Holdings companies win work from Wonbindi Coal, Lynas Rare Earths, Rio Tinto

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NRW Holdings Limited companies Golding Contractors and DIAB Engineering have banked some significant contracts in the mining space, the biggest of which is a Mining Service Agreement with Wonbindi Coal Pty Ltd at the Baralaba North Mine in Queensland.

The Baralaba North award is valued at around A$800 million ($546 million) and continues the strong relationship between Golding and Wonbindi where Golding has provided the contract mining services at the Baralaba North Mine over the last four years.

The scope of work remains the same and includes maintaining and operating a client-owned fleet of equipment, producing an ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection product. The pact commenced on July 1 and follows on from a Binding Letter of Intent the two companies signed earlier in the year.

DIAB Engineering, meanwhile, has been awarded two contracts with a value of circa-A$78 million.

At the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, DIAB has been awarded a contract for a key component of the facility, being the construction of the Filter Building used to process and further concentrate the rare earth. The works to be performed include the supply, fabrication and erection of the Filter Building, the installation of associated equipment and piping, and electrical and instrumentation installation.

DIAB will carry out all the circa-1,500 tonne fabrication works for the Filter Building at its facilities in Geraldton using around 80 local Midwest team members. A construction workforce of 60-80 will then be mobilised to site progressively over the coming months.

Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths, is the only scale producer of separated rare earths outside of China. It mines and processes rare earth ore at Mt Weld, in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Lynas’ new processing facility in Kalgoorlie will treat rare earth concentrate from Mt Weld to produce a rare earth carbonate.

At Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Tom Price mine in Western Australia, DIAB Engineering, has secured the supply, fabrication and installation of multiple dust suppression systems to be utilised on the Tom Price and Western Turner crusher and conveyor systems. These systems will assist in improved control and suppression of dust generated from processing activities, reducing the impacts on personnel and plant operations, it says. The project will run for approximately 12 months, employing 60 people at its peak.

Rio’s WTS2 iron ore project hits first ore milestone, Mondium says

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Mondium says first ore has been achieved at Rio Tinto’s Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 project (WTS2) in Western Australia.

Rio Tinto awarded Perth-based Mondium a A$400 million ($276 million) contract to design and construct the mine in early 2020. This saw the company, a joint venture involving Monadelphous and Lycopodium, undertake all engineering and design, procurement and site construction works associated with the WTS2 development, including the process plant, overland conveyor and non-process infrastructure.

Celebrating the achievement, Mondium said it was a significant achievement for its EPC team, Rio Tinto and delivery partners.

It added: “593 days and more than two million site hours worked culminated in the first loader bucket tipping high-grade ore into the WTS2 run of mine bin. Forty minutes later, the ore was discharged to the WTS1 belt and delivered to the Tom Price stockpiles.”

Back in November 2019, Rio said it would invest $749 million in the development of WTS2 at its Greater Tom Price operations, facilitating mining of existing and new deposits and including construction of a new crusher as well as a 13 km conveyor. In addition to this, the haul truck fleet at the mine would be fitted with Autonomous Haulage System technology to enable autonomous haulage. This fleet has since been commissioned.

SCEE Electrical to help integrate battery energy storage system at Rio’s Tom Price

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Southern Cross Electrical Engineering says its SCEE Electrical business has been contracted to work on a 45 MW/12 MWh Battery Energy Storage for Spinning Reserve (BESSR) facility at the Hammersley Iron-owned Tom Price operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

This contract, part of pacts amounting to around A$20 million ($14.9 million) the company has received in the resources and infrastructure sector, will see SCEE supply works for the installation of the balance of plant for the BESSR facility.

The integration of this battery energy storage system into the network operator’s existing power network has the goal of decarbonising the power generation portfolio and saving fuel costs, SCEE said.

SCEE Electrical’s works will commence immediately and are scheduled to be complete in July 2022.

Hammersley Iron is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

SCEE Group Managing Director, Graeme Dunn, said he was particularly pleased to announce the battery project for Rio Tinto in the Pilbara following its NECA WA award-winning efforts at the Agnew Hybrid Renewable project.

“The SCEE Group is leveraged across many aspects of the lithium cycle including working at lithium mines, at lithium processing plants, manufacturing electric vehicle charging systems and installing the batteries themselves,” he said. “In turn, this is only a subset of the many decarbonisation initiatives which the SCEE Group enables.”

Fleetwood to support Rio’s Pilbara rail works with Ti Tree camp upgrades

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Fleetwood Ltd says its Fleetwood Building Solutions subsidiary has been awarded a A$30 million ($23 million) camp expansion and upgrade contract by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

The contract award from Pilbara Iron Company has a scope including supply, installation, refurbishment upgrades and relocation of buildings at Rio Tinto’s Ti Tree Rail Camp, 170 km southeast of Karratha and 100 km north of Tom Price.

The expanded rail camp will support a peak workforce of more than 300 people completing future rail maintenance and upgrade works on the Tom Price to Cape Lambert rail line.

Commencing in December 2020, the contract is expected to take around 10 months to complete and contribute to the company’s 2021 calendar year revenue, Fleetwood said.

During the tender process, Fleetwood met the Rio Tinto Category 3 supplier requirements, which allows it to perform works on site as the primary contractor across other potential projects, it said.

Fleetwood’s Interim CEO, Andrew Wackett, said: “The opportunity to partner directly with one of the world’s largest mining companies like Rio Tinto highlights Fleetwood’s experience as the largest Australian-owned modular building company.”