Tag Archives: Western Australia

BHP Pilbara villages safety and accessibility upgrade complete

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BHP says work is complete on its A$300 million ($200 million) investment to improve safety and accessibility for residents and guests at its Pilbara villages in Western Australia.

The accommodation safety and security upgrade project began in 2020 and was completed earlier this year by the WA Iron Ore Non-Process Infrastructure (NPI), Engineering and Asset Projects teams.

Kate Holling, WA Iron Ore NPI General Manager, said the initiative involved a significant amount of work by a big number of people, however the results were outstanding.

“In total, 10,756 rooms were upgraded across our 13 WAIO villages with more than 10,000 doors, 8,000 lights, 1,500 CCTV cameras and 4.75 km of fencing installed,” she said.

“The work was delivered using 100% Australian manufacturers and local contractors, including many Traditional Owner businesses.

“Safety continues to be our number one priority and I’m happy to see this work complete to make our villages feel safer and more accessible for everyone who visits them.”

Regis Resources opens Balkau Decline at Garden Well South underground mine

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Regis Resources Ltd has officially opened the Balkau Decline at its Garden Well South underground mine, in Western Australia, named after Regis General Manager of Exploration, Jens Balkau, who passed away in 2021.

Garden Well South underground is an underground extension of the Garden Well open-pit mine, which is a key production source at Regis’ Duketon gold project, located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The original Garden Well deposit was discovered as a “blind deposit” by the Regis exploration team led by Jens Balkau.

Balkau was one of the first and longest serving employees of Regis, joining in January 2006 as the General Manager of Exploration, and remaining in that role until February 2016 when he retired from full-time work. He remained a consultant to Regis before he passed away from a long-term illness in November 2021.

The Balkau Decline provides access to Regis’ second underground operation, located at Garden Well South, which commenced commercial production during May 2023. This is part of the mineralised system that extends for at least 1 km underneath the existing Garden Well open pits, which resulted from the original discovery by the team that Balkau led, Regis said.

This milestone is the culmination of more than two years of preparation, commitment and hard work from Regis teams with support from major mining services providers Barminco and MACA, it added.

Garden Well Underground will become a key part of the wider Duketon operations, which produced 356,000 oz of gold in the year ending June 30, 2021.

The official opening ceremony for the Balkau Decline was attended by Balkau’s family, local Traditional Owners as well as many former and current Regis employees, including Regis Chairman, James Mactier, and Managing Director and CEO, Jim Beyer.

Beyer said: “The official naming of the Balkau Decline yesterday reflects this positive evolution for the Garden Well operation, so it is fitting we name it after the man who led the initial discovery of Garden Well. Jens was a much-loved and valued colleague, friend and mentor to many at Regis. He led the exploration team for over a decade with enthusiasm and an abundant willingness to nurture the next generation of geologists.

“Jens is deeply missed, but his legacy will always be remembered at Regis.”

Decmil receives logistics link upgrade LNoA from Covalent for Mount Holland lithium project

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Decmil Group says it has received a Limited Notice of Award (LNoA) for a contract at Covalent Lithium’s Mount Holland lithium project in Western Australia.

Formal award of the contract remains subject to finalisation of terms and conditions, but, under the currently envisaged scope of the LNoA, Decmil is authorised to perform early works, commence procurement of materials and draft management plans.

If Decmil is awarded the contract, it will upgrade the logistics link between Great Eastern Highway and Covalent’s Mount Holland site. This encompasses 113 km of road upgrades with mobilisation scheduled to commence in August 2023 and completion anticipated by December 2024.

Covalent will develop and operate the Mount Holland project, which will be a unique, fully integrated producer of battery-quality lithium hydroxide in Western Australia. The company says it is targeting 75% recovery of spodumene in its concentrator and expects to produce more than 380,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate.

This LNoA further strengthens the relationship between Covalent and Decmil, with Decmil currently completing the design and construction of non-process infrastructure buildings at Covalent’s Kwinana site (pictured).

Decmil CEO, Rod Heale, said: “We are delivering on our shift towards larger-sized contracts with more equitable risk allocations that fit within our core geographic and operational expertise. This LNoA perfectly illustrates Decmil’s evolution towards this highly selective tendering strategy to underpin increasingly profitable revenue growth.

“The LNoA is also a testament to the successful delivery of our current package of works with Covalent, as we continue to positively progress our operational turnaround.

“Additionally, continued exposure to the Mount Holland project will further enhance the company’s position in the burgeoning lithium sector.”

Metso extends calcining and acid roasting input at Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant

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Metso says it has been awarded a contract to deliver ancillary equipment for Albemarle Lithium Pty Ltd’s calcining and acid roasting facilities at the Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia.

This agreeement is an addendum to the two pyro processing and comminution lines that were awarded to Metso and announced in December 2022. The value of the contract is approximately €40 million ($43.5 million).

Metso’s scope of delivery includes selected material handling and gas cleaning equipment for the calciner, calcine grinding and acid vapour sections.

Chris Urban, Vice President, Heat Transfer at Metso, said: “We are pleased that Albemarle, which is one of the largest lithium producers in the world, has selected us as the partner for their lithium hydroxide processing plants. In addition to the pyro processing and comminution lines ordered, it was also our honour to deliver two pyro lines, which were recently commissioned.”

The Kemerton plant initially consisted of three production trains, each producing 20,000 t/y of lithium hydroxide, with a potential expansion to five trains that will see production increase to 100,000 t/y by around 2025. The plant will be supplied with lithium concentrate produced at the nearby Greenbushes mine.

Austin banks A$25 million truck tray order destined for Western Australia

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Austin Engineering says it has now received all the purchase orders expected following a successful tender process last year, plus a further 25% in additional orders, under a single contract for truck trays to be delivered to Western Australia.

The value of the orders received to date is approximately A$25 million ($16.7 million).

The first three trays under this order were delivered ex-works 10 days ago for onward shipment to the customer site. The remaining trays are in, or scheduled for, production at Austin’s facilities in Batam, Indonesia and Perth, Western Australia.

Austin announced in May 2023 it had received 85% of the outstanding purchase orders related to this contract and was awaiting receipt of the final orders, which has now occurred.

Overall order book growth has been maintained. Austin’s group order book to the end of May 2023 is up 21% year-on-year to A$146 million and more than double from the same time two years ago, it says.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “We are very pleased to have received more purchase orders than expected under the financial year 2023 tender contract and can confirm that most of the revenue will be booked in financial year 2024. Further, we have continued to build our financial year 2024 order book, driving an improved revenue outlook.

“Our recently expanded Batam manufacturing centre continues to provide the extra capacity and flexibility we need in our business. With deliveries now scheduled across the world including US, Australia, Europe and India, we are expecting a strong performance for our Batam operations in financial year 2024.”

Zenith Energy and Northern Star seal renewable energy-focused PPA at Jundee

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Zenith Energy has converted the preliminary works agreement and term sheet it had in place with Northern Star Resources related to bolstering the power supply to the Jundee gold mine in Western Australia with a renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement.

Jundee is an existing mining operation that will have wind, solar and battery retrofitted into the mix and integrated into the existing gas power station. The renewable generation being added includes 24 MW of wind, 16.9 MWp of solar, and 12 MW/13.4 MWh of battery energy storage.

Zenith says this new energy mix will result in 56% of the mine site’s power coming from renewable sources, contributing towards the aim of cutting Jundee’s Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 35-50% by 2030.

Currently all ore is sourced from Jundee underground operations which yield circa-1.8 Mt/y of ore. There are three underground portals which provide access to the various underground lode structures – Barton, Gateway and Invicta portals. Underground mining is being carried out by an up-hole long-hole open stoping sequence as its primary method. No backfill or paste is used.

The Jundee processing circuit is a conventional carbon-in-leach plant with a hard-rock processing capacity of approximately 3 Mt/y. The process consists of a single toggle overhead eccentric swing jaw crusher followed by a SAG and ball milling circuit incorporating gravity recovery and carbon-in-pulp process achieving 92% recoveries, according to Northern Star.

NRW Holdings wins contract mining gig at Allkem’s Mt Cattlin open-pit lithium mine

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NRW Holdings Limited says it has been issued with a Letter of Intent from Allkem Limited in respect to the contract for mining services works at the Mt Cattlin open-pit lithium mine in Western Australia.

Formal award of the contract is subject to finalising outstanding terms, but the anticipated value of the contract is circa-A$332 million ($220 million) over a 36-month duration and the project will be supported by a workforce of approximately 140 people, mostly sourced from the surrounding area.

The works to be performed under the contract include load & haul, drill & blast and material rehandling. NRW will use an existing fleet comprising 200-250-t-class excavators and 150-t-class trucks together with ancillary plant. Mobilisation is currently underway preparing for commencement on site in August.

The Mt Cattlin operation produced circa-194,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate grading up to 6% Li20 in the 2022 financial year to June 30, 2022, according to Allkem.

NRW Chief Executive Officer, Jules Pemberton, said: “I am delighted to announce that NRW has been selected by Allkem as its preferred contractor for the mining services contract. NRW is a world leading provider of services across all aspects of the Lithium sector and we look forward to a long and successful partnership with Allkem.”

SRG Global builds out contract book with BHP, Rio Tinto maintenance work

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SRG Global says it has secured maintenance contracts in Queensland and an Aboriginal JV contract in Western Australia for clients including BHP and a subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

The contracts, valued at circa-A$65 million ($43 million), bring the company’s new contract wins since the start of the 2023 financial year (which ends on June 30) to A$1.2 billion.

The Queensland maintenance term contracts include contracts with Rio Tinto to provide engineered access services at Yarwun in Gladstone. This contract will start immediately and is expected to continue for a period of five years, including two one-year options to extend.

The Bugarrba Aboriginal JV term contract with BHP is to provide shut down engineered access services in the Pilbara of Western Australia. The contract will start immediately and is expected to continue for a period of five years, including three one-year options to extend.

David Macgeorge, Managing Director, commented: “These contract wins showcase our specialist skillset as a trusted partner to deliver maintenance services for our clients critical infrastructure in the marine, alumina, steel and iron ore sectors.”

FLSmidth to deliver MissionZero comminution equipment to KCGM gold operations

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Northern Star Resources Ltd has placed an order for a wide range of FLSmidth mineral processing technologies for its Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Operations’ mill expansion project, according to the Denmark-headquartered OEM.

KCGM Operations are east-northeast of Perth in Western Australia, part of one of the richest goldfields in the world, the so-called Golden Mile close to the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The order is valued at approximately DKK 515 million ($75.1 million) and was booked in the June quarter of 2023. The equipment is due to be delivered during 2024.

Under the agreement, FLSmidth will supply a range of MissionZero products covering most of the flowsheet, including SAG mill, ball mill, primary crusher, pebble crushers, flotation cells and a pre-leach thickener. In addition to these technologies, the order also includes spare and wear parts. Upon installation, these technologies will substantially reduce the mine’s energy consumption.

The 20 MW grinding mills will be the highest power, gear-driven mills in the world and the ball mill will be the first gear driven 28 ft (8.5 m) diameter ball mill, according to FLSmidth.

“This order is yet another important milestone in our ambition to enable zero emission mining by 2030, and we are very pleased with Northern Star Resources’ contribution to fulfilling this ambition,” Mikko Keto, CEO at FLSmidth, said.

This week, Northern Star announced the final investment decision on the KCGM Mill Expansion project, agreeing to invest A$1.5 billion ($1 billion) to boost the mill’s capacity to 27 Mt/y, from 13 Mt/y.

Northern Star Resources’ Managing Director, Stuart Tonkin, said of the FLSmidth order: “Northern Star’s purpose is to generate superior returns for our shareholders, while providing positive benefits for our stakeholders through operational effectiveness, exploration and active portfolio management. Being a responsible producer for the benefit of our shareholders, employees, other stakeholders and the communities in which we operate is key to our sustainable operations. We are pleased to partner with globally leading technology suppliers like FLSmidth in advancing our five-year profitable growth strategy.”

Duratec banks Rio Tinto Western Australia work at Robe River and Dampier Salt

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Australian engineering, construction, and remediation contractor, Duratec Limited, has recently been awarded A$30 million ($20.4 million) in mining and industrial (M&I) segment work with Rio Tinto across the major miner’s iron ore and salt operations.

Key project awards within this total consist of the structural integrity remediation and Bins 3-5 life expansion works at Robe River’s West Angelas mine (A$19 million), which will commence
immediately and is due for completion by the end of the June quarter of 2025, and Dampier Salt’s Lake Macleod jetty structural integrity works bays 10 to 11 (A$6.8 million), which will commence immediately and is due for completion by the end of the calendar year.

Structural integrity projects consist of blast, protective coating and the structural remediation (including welding and steel strengthening) of a client’s assets. This, Duratec says, strongly aligns with the company’s remediation expertise and proven track record in delivery of similar packages through the company’s M&I segment. The A$30 million in M&I segment work since mid-May 2023, including these two key project awards, demonstrates Duratec’s ability to strengthen its annuity style contract awards with key strategic clients, which remains a key focus and growth area of the company.

Duratec’s Managing Director, Phil Harcourt, said: “I am elated with the company’s efforts in converting tangible opportunities to our orderbook and with the ability of our company to present itself as the contractor of choice with our key clients. The M&I segment currently represents 25% of our overall orderbook, and the outlook for this segment remains very strong, which Duratec is well positioned to capitalise on – in line with the business strategy.”