Civmec has secured a contract worth more than A$330m ($227.3m) for Rio Tinto’s Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The scope of the contract of the Australian construction and engineering services provider will include the construction of a new run of mine (ROM) pad, primary crushing facility, and overland conveying circuit.
Besides, Civmec will carry out modifications to the coarse ore stockpile (COS) as well as downstream conveying system.
Located at the Paraburdoo site, the Western Range iron ore project is anticipated to have an annual production capacity of 25 million tonnes of iron ore.
Construction of the iron ore project is scheduled to commence this year with the first production expected in 2025.
Civmec stated that under the greenfields scope, the company will construct a new primary crushing plant, discharge conveyor, transfer station, and a 17km overland conveying system to transport the ore to the existing Paraburdoo COS.
The overland conveying system is expected to comprise transfer stations, multiple conveyor flights, and creek crossings to connect the new primary crusher to the existing process facility.
Under the brownfields scope, the company is expected to add new feed points at the COS, carry out conveyor upgrades, new ore transfer equipment, drive replacements, conveyor replacements, and other general modifications for receiving the new ore stream.
According to Civmec, it will provide all the detailed earthwork, civil, and concrete components along with the installation of the structural, mechanical, plumbing (SMP), electrical, and instrumentation (E&I) systems, on-site.
The off-site works will begin right away, while site mobilisation is expected to start by mid-2023, stated the company.
The project is anticipated to employ more than 400 people on-site.
Civmec CEO Patrick Tallon said: “We are very pleased to be awarded the Western Range project, which further enhances our long-standing relationship with Rio Tinto.
“The fact that we will be utilising our manufacturing facilities to supply our construction site teams, across several disciples, strongly aligns with our business model to provide multi-disciplined solutions for our clients. This allows us to start the new year with an order book in excess of A$1.150 billion.”
In September 2022, Rio Tinto agreed to create a joint venture (JV) with China Baowu Steel Group (Baowu) to develop the Western Range iron ore project with an investment of $2bn.
