Perenti wins $200m Odysseus contract

Perenti subsidiary Barminco has secured a $200 million, five-year development and production contract at Western Areas’ Odysseus nickel mine.

That project is located at Western Area’s Cosmos nickel operation in the Goldfields region.

Western Areas acquired that operation in 2015 for $25 million from Glencore.

Redevelopment of the Odysseus mine began in January of last year and about 25 people are now employed at the site.

It is expected the mine will produce about 15,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate per year once online.

Barminco chief executive Paul Muller said he was excited to continue a relationship with Western Areas that had begun in 2005 at the Spotted Quoll nickel mine located in the regional town of Forrestania.

That mine employs about 190 people and produces about 0.2Mt of nickel per year.

“Odysseus is a significant project to bring on-stream, and the five-year term demonstrates the trust and confidence Western Areas has in Barminco to continuously improve and deliver for them,” Mr Muller said.

Perenti managing director and chief executive Mark Norwell said it was fantastic that the two companies had extended their relationship by another five years.

“We are very appreciative of the opportunity and we look forward to delivering value and certainty for Western Areas at their new development,” Mr Norwell said.

Perenti was trading at $1.20/share at 4pm AEST, up $0.08 on opening, while Western Areas was trading at $2.36/share, up $0.06 on opening.