The NRW Holdings Ltd/Eastern Guruma joint venture has been awarded the Rio Tinto Iron Ore contract for the Western Turner Brockman Project Earthworks and Primary Civil Works, worth around $160 million over 12 months.

 

The contract will expand the Rio Tinto Brockman 4 mine from its current capacity of 22 million tones to 40 million tones,  and the Western Turner Syncline mine from 6 million tones to 15 million tonnes.  The two sections of the contract will be undertaken simultaneously, and NRW is planning to mobilize a workforce of up to 550 people within four weeks.

 

The Brockman 4 Project Phase II  involves construction of earthworks, drainage and road works required for the mine site development; the ROM area; and mine infrastructure including heavy vehicle access roads and haul roads.  Process and infrastructure work include primary crushing pads, the conveyor corridor, overland conveying and non-process facilities such as the plant maintenance workshop.

 

The Western Turner Syncline project, north-west of the Tom Price mine in the Pilbara,  involves earthworks for the overland conveyor, supply and installation of culvers along the overland conveyor, construction of concrete foundations for tunnels and installation of tunnels.

 

This is the second large-scale contract awarded to the NRW-Eastern Guruma joint venture, the first being the contract mining operations at Western Turner Syncline, also for Rio Tinto Iron Ore, awarded in December 2009.