PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Contract miner Thiess has won a A$155-million mining services contract from joint venture (JV) Minera Centinela to perform full-service mining at the Llano copper project, located in the Sierra Gorda District, in Chile.
The contract is expected to start in March 2023, with Thiess’s scope of works including mining operations, maintenance, and asset management services at the greenfield copper mine for Minera Centinela, a JV between Antofagasta Minerals and Marubeni Corporation.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Minera Centinela to develop a mine of the future, focused on sustainable innovation, optimised production, and career development for the skilled mining professionals who make up the local workforce,” Thiess executive chairperson and CEO Michael Wright said.
“During the seven years we have been in Chile, we’ve built trusted partnerships with local communities, suppliers and our clients. We look forward to the future as we continue to work with Minera Centinela to redefine sustainable mining.”
Thiess has also established partnerships with local suppliers to provide essential services and has committed to hiring locally to increase the number of employees living close to the mine. Thiess will also double the number of women hired at Llano relative to mining in Chile, by expanding its existing scholarship programme for women operators, and commencing the second cohort of the apprenticeship programme to train and empower women living in the Antofagasta region who have an interest in maintenance, the company said.