GR Engineering Wins $16 Million EPC Contract for Carosue Gold Processing Expansion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Saracen Minerals Holdings Limited (ASX:SAR) has awarded GR Engineering Services Limited (ASX:GNG) (Perth) a contract for its Carosue Dam processing plant expansion project. Under the contract, which is valued at $16 million, GR Engineering will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the installation of a tertiary crushing circuit and other ancillary services as part of the first stage of the expansion.

The Carosue Dam processing plant is located within the Laverton gold field, about 120 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The stage 1 expansion will involve increasing the current processing capacity from 2.4 million tons per year to an estimated 3.2 million tons by installing two tertiary crushers, three conveyor belts, a screen house and additional carbon-in-leach tanks. Saracen also plans to further increase the capacity to a total 4 million tons per year by installing another ball mill to the milling circuit. However, stage 2 of the expansion is still under consideration by the board; it will be taken up two to three years following the completion of stage 1 and will be funded out of internal cash flows.

The Carosue Dam processing facility is currently being supplied with ore from two major open pits: the Whirling Dervish deposit and the Karari pit, located about 1 kilometre from the plant. A scoping study will be undertaken in 2013 to explore the opportunities of underground mining development at the Karai pit. The plant also will receive ore from the newly developed underground mining at Red October deposit. Saracen currently has multiple open pit exploration projects in the surrounding area that eventually will supply ore to the expanded Carosue processing facility.

Total estimated gold production through the Carosue facility for 2013 currently stands at 125,000 to 135,000 ounces, which the company plans to increase 30% to 40% by 2015. The scheduled date for the completion of expansion is first quarter of 2014.

GR Engineering's Managing Director Joe Ricciardo said the company is pleased to have been awarded the contract, as most of its senior personnel were responsible for the designing of the original Carosue Dam facility in 2001.

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