PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner has awarded mining contractor MACA a three-year mining contract at its McPhee Creek project, in the Pilbara.
Atlas had previously indicated that a final investment decision on the mine was due by mid-2023.
McPhee Creek is located 100 km from the Roy Hill mine, and is expected to produce at a rate of between 9.5-million and 9.7-million tonnes a year. Primary crushed ore from McPhee will be hauled via a road train to Roy Hill for processing and ultimately, shipping.
The three-year project scope includes mine, load and haul of up to 10-million tonnes a year, before being transported to Roy Hill for processing.
MACA said on Tuesday that the project was anticipated to employ 145 people at peak operations and would include partnerships with local Indigenous businesses.
“MACA has a strong, 20-year history servicing the resources and construction industries, and has built long-standing client relationships during this period. We are now operating as a Thiess company, and I am delighted with the effort between both companies to continue to support these relationships and critical project development in Western Australia,” Thiess group executive Australia West and MACA CEO David Greig said.
“We’ve been working with Atlas for almost 15 years across our crushing, civil and mining businesses, and I look forward to working with them once again on the McPhee Creek project,” he said.