The Queensland Government has announced that Queensland-based civil engineering company QBirt has won a $70 million bulk earthworks package for work on Rio Tinto's $2.6 billion Amrun Bauxite project on Western Cape York.
QBirt founder and managing director Quentin Birt said the latest Amrun contract is a positive step to continue QBirt's association with Rio Tinto, after previously winning the contract for 300,000m3 of embankment and seven kilometres of mine haul roads.
“We pride ourselves on the relationships we generate and this is mirrored by our ongoing re-engagement with Rio Tinto. After the success of our accelerated construction mine haul road network at Weipa, this new Amrun contract only strengthens our long-term relationship with Rio Tinto.”
Earthworks required for the construction of the new project include approximately 40 kilometres of sealed access roads and the haul road network.
Once operational, the Amrun project is expected to support the continued employment of the current 1400 strong workforce based in Weipa, as well as more than 2000 employees based at the Yarwun and Queensland Aluminium Limited refineries in Gladstone that are fed with bauxite from Cape York.