Northern Star Resources awards $973m EPC contract to Primero Group

NRW Holdings Limited’s wholly owned subsidiary Primero Group Limited has secured a major contract with Northern Star Resources Limited for its Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) Growth Project in Western Australia. 

The $973 million Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract will include design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the Growth Project’s processing plant facilities that will help modernise as well as increase KCGM’s processing capacity from 13Mtpa to 27Mtpa. 

Primero Group previously participated in a competitive Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) programme and has worked with Northern Star Resources’ project team to develop a “technically superior design that will bring operating benefits to the Fimiston Processing Plant”. 

Following this ECI programme, Primero Group undertook further value engineering and scope development for the project. 

“The execution of the KCGM Growth Project is the culmination of an 18-month journey with Northern Star. The works conducted to date to develop the capital cost, design, execution strategy and schedule for the project, has been one of the most comprehensive and rigorous ECI programmes we have participated in. The effort of the combined teams to define this key project has provided a solid foundation for safe, efficient, and successful delivery,” Primero Group Managing Director Michael Gollschewski said. 

“This EPC Contract reinforces Primero’s reputation as a leading provider of world-class engineering and construction services. This project showcases Primero’s full range of in-house capability. I look forward to developing a long-term relationship with one of the industry’s leading gold producers,” NRW Holdings Managing Director Jules Pemberton said. 

The Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines is located adjacent to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, about 600 kilometres east of Perth. It is comprised of the Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit), Mt Charlotte Underground Mine and the Fimiston and Gidji Processing Plants. 

In June of this year, Northern Star Resources announced that its Board has approved the $1.5 billion KCGM expansion that will further strengthen the company’s key assets and overall portfolio. 

“The Board’s decision to approve the KCGM mill expansion and optimisation represents the next stage to revitalise our largest asset as well as the surrounding district for decades to come. This project is financially compelling, and a significant enabling step towards delivering our strategy to generate superior return for our shareholders. 

“Our confidence in the economics of KCGM to remain a long-life, low-cost gold mine has been further reinforced through the feasibility study phase. Expanding the processing capacity of KCGM will strengthen Northern Star’s portfolio, materially increase our free cash flow generation and progress our long-term strategy to be within the 2nd quartile of the global cost curve. 

“Further, the Project is important in our sustainability journey and will also sustain hundreds of local jobs, economic and social investment, and local procurement opportunities in the Goldfields region,” Northern Star Resources Managing Director Stuart Tonkin said. 

Source: NRW Holdings; Primero Group; Northern Star Resources (1, 2); Australian Mining; Mining Technology; NS Energy