Perenti Global subsidiary Barminco has received a letter of intent from Canada-based Barrick Gold to provide underground mining services at the Hemlo mine in north western Ontario, under a proposed $200 million contract.
Barminco will undertake mine development, production and haulage at the site and utilise mining equipment provided by Barrick.
The company expects to employ more than 300 people for the works, commencing in April and due to complete in 2023.
It is the second major contract awarded to Barminco this year, with the company having secured $200 million in works for Panoramic’s Savannah nickel mine last month.
Perenti managing director Mark Norwell said the latest contract with Barrick was a further step in the company’s international growth strategy.
“This is Barminco and Perenti’s first significant contract in North America and builds on our regional growth capabilities, after expanding into Botswana last year with an $800 million contract,” he said.
Barminco was awarded the five-year contract with Khoemacau Copper Mining in June for works at its Zone 5 mine in Botswana.
Barrick’s Hemlo mine has produced more than 21 million ounces of gold over 30 years of operation.
Barminco chief executive Paul Muller said the company intended to work closely with Barrick and all key stakeholders to sustainably improve the performance of the mine.
The latest contract comes on top of Perenti’s recently-secured $155.5 million in new and extended contracts in Australia and Africa through its Ausdrill surface mining operation.
Shares in the company were down 13.2 per cent at 1:15pm AEDT to trade at $1.08, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 down 350 points, or 6 per cent, to 5,866 at 2:00pm AEDT.