Australian lithium producer Pilbara Minerals Limited has awarded a contract to NRW Holdings Limited subsidiary Primero Group Limited for construction works associated with the P680 Expansion Project at its Pilgangoora Project in Western Australia.
The $62-million, eight-month contract is for works pertaining to the construction of the Primary Rejection Facility and preliminary works for the new Crushing and Ore Sorting Facility.
Under the contract, Primero will be responsible for detailed earth and concrete works associated with both the Primary Rejection and Crushing and Ore Sorting Facilities, and the structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation installation (SMPE&I) associated with the Primary Rejection Facility.
Primero will also assist with providing commissioning, integration and shutdown support to tie the Primary Rejection Facility into the existing Pilgan Plant.
Construction works in respect of SMPE&I for the Crushing and Ore Sorting Facilities are yet to be awarded and are scheduled for award later this year.
Pilbara Minerals Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson said the company was pleased to welcome the Primero team back to Pilgangoora for the P680 Expansion Project’s important construction package.
Henderson continued: “Primero is a long-standing partner of Pilbara Minerals from an early stage, having undertaken packages of work for Pilbara Minerals from the commencement of the project in 2017, as well playing an integral role in the successful commissioning, ramp-up and optimisation of the Pilgan Plant in 2019.
“The Primero team has an established track record in the safe and successful delivery of projects of this nature and has had exposure across many of the recent projects within the lithium sector.
“We look forward to working closely with Primero for the safe and successful delivery of this package, which will step-up our production run-rate to the next level with a total of approximately 680,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene concentrate across the combined Pilgangoora operation.
“The successful completion of this project will further cement Pilbara Minerals’ position as an emerging leader in the provision of sustainable battery materials products.”
NRW Managing Director Jules Pemberton added: “This contract builds on a long-term association between Pilbara Minerals and Primero that began with Primero’s involvement in the design and construction of the original Pilgan plant. We look forward to the successful completion of these works.”
