Engineering services and project management group Ausenco Ltd
(ASX:AAX) has signed an engineering, procurement and construction management contract with Xstrata Copper.
The $9.6 million contract is for the magnetite extraction plant at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry Mining operation located near Cloncurry in north west Queensland.
The plant forms part of Xstrata Copper’s $589 million development of the Ernest Henry Mine and magnetite processing operations announced last year.
Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka says the company is pleased with the contract win, which strengthens the relationship it has built with Xstrata over many years.
The Ernest Henry Mine currently has an annual production capacity of 90,000 metric tonnes of copper in concentrate and 110,000 ounces of gold in concentrate.
Ausenco says the magnetite processing operation will produce around 1.2 million tonnes of magnetite a year. Ausenco posted a profit for 2009.
