NRW bags another Roy Hill contract

NRW Holdings has won a $200 million contract for concrete and earthworks at Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill iron ore project.

Major contractor Samsung C&T awarded NRW the contract, which will require up to 660 personnel and is expected to take 12 months to complete.

The award comprises concrete and earthworks for the processing plant, stockyard, overland conveyors and crushing areas, and includes 15 kilometres of underground piping and 5km of rail works for stackers and reclaimers.

NRW announced in September that it had clinched a $620 million contract at Roy Hill, which included earthworks and construction activities for a 330km rail line to connect the proposed mine to Port Hedland.

The US$10 billion Roy Hill project is expected to employ up to 3,600 people during peak construction and reach commercial production in 2015 at a nameplate capacity of 55 million tonnes per year.

Last month Gina Rinehart, who owns Hancock Prospecting, signed a US$7.2 billion funding package for the project with 19 banks and five export credit agencies.

The balance of the project has been funded by Hancock Prospecting and its project partners including South Korea’s Posco, Japan’s Marubeni and Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation.

Hancock Prospecting has a 70 per cent stake in Roy Hill while the project partners hold the remaining 30 per cent interest.