It has been reported recently that Barminco, Perenti Global's hard rock underground mining subsidiary, has finalized a contract with Panoramic Resources for the development and production of the Savannah nickel project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The final contract is worth about A $280 million (US $208 million) for four years, Perenti said. In accordance with the terms of the initial letter of intent announced on April 6, 2021, Barminco began mobilization and early mining work ahead of schedule. With the finalization of the contract, Barminco expects development and production work to increase over the next six months to achieve full revenue operation by the beginning of the third quarter of 2022.
According to Panoramic, the contract will be serviced by new underground mining equipment, including the use of remote mining equipment, which is expected to bring safety and productivity advantages. Ore processing in Savannah is scheduled to begin in November and the first concentrate from Savannah will be shipped next month. It has begun to build ore stocks on the surface, and the company plans to increase it to 100000 tons before opening the processing plant.
Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said: "We look forward to working with the Panoramic team to develop what we all hope to be Australia's next long-life nickel mine. Despite challenging labour market conditions in Western Australia, we have successfully mobilized the workforce of about 110 highly skilled underground workers. As the project progresses, we expect this to increase to 170. Make sure that this workforce enables us to start early work. "
