Nammuldi Below Water Expansion Project Kicks Off with Early Site Works

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Rio Tinto plc's (NYSE:RIO) $3 billion Nammuldi Silvergrass Below Water expansion project is readying for construction, with earthworks set to begin this month. The Nammuldi mine is located about 55 kilometres northwest of the Western Australian town of Tom Price and approximately 250 kilometres inland from the ports of Dampier and Cape Lambert.

The project will primarily include the expansion of the Nammuldi open pit mine underneath the water table, with relocation and modification of the existing processing plant. Waste material will be predominantly stored in external waste dumps, although opportunities to undertake progressive backfilling of pits during operations will be sought throughout the life of the mine. The company expects the processing capacity to increase to an estimated 45 million tons per year (T/yr) from the existing 20 million T/yr, with a total iron production of 23 million T/yr upon completion.

Rio appointed Pilbara EPCM as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, which was formed with a joint venture between Lycopodium Minerals (Perth, Western Australia) and URS Australia (Artarmon, New South Wales). A $180 million contract was awarded to NRW Holdings (Belmont, Western Australia) to carry out the bulk earthworks and civil construction in April 2013. Under the contract, NRW will perform the construction of mine service facilities, a stockyard and an explosives compound, as well as bulk earthworks for the processing plant. It also involves construction of 5.7 kilometres of heavy haul roads and 12 kilometres of light vehicle roads. Mining contracting and processing firm Crushing Services International (Perth), a fully owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited, has been appointed by Pilbara EPCM as the structural, mechanical and piping contractor for the processing facility.

Pilbara EPCM has completed construction of the onsite wastewater treatment facility and the extension to the existing B4 accommodation camp. Another 800-man accommodation camp will be constructed as part of the Nammuldi expansion in order to support the additional workforce upon completion. The construction of the additional accommodation will be in early 2014. Remote infrastructure provider OTOC Australia (Perth) was named the preferred contractor for the B4 accommodation.

Rio's Project Manager, Brett McLeod, confirmed that early site work has begun, and the processing plant expansion should commence in late 2013.

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