Fortescue Metals Group has selected Belmont-based NRW Holdings as the preferred contractor to deliver the first stage of earthworks, roadworks and drainage works at the company's Eliwana rail project, located 90 kilometres west of the town of Tom Price in the Pilbara.
In a statement to the ASX on Monday, NRW said the contract, which is yet to be formally executed, is valued at around $57 million and the company would utilize its existing civil construction fleet for the project.
In October last year the company announced a series of WA-based contracts worth about $92 million, including an extension at Talison Lithium’s Greenbushes mine and work at BHP Billiton’s South Flank project.
A month later NRW announced it had secured a five-year, $500 million contract extension for mining services at Stanmore Coal’s Isaac Plains East project in Queensland.
Fortescue gave the green light in May for the $1.8 billion development of the Eliwana project, which is expected to enter production in December 2020 as a replacement for the Firetail mine, and will include 143 kilometres of rail.
Eliwana is projected to operate at 30 million tonnes per annum, with capacity for up to 50mtpa over a mine life of at least 24 years.
Shares in NRW were flat at $1.60 each at 2pm AEDT.
