Pilbara Minerals shortlists contractors for $104m job

Pilbara Minerals has shortlisted three engineering consortia for construction of the processing infrastructure at its Pilgangoora lithium development, while also appointing Engenium to assist in delivery of the project.

The overall project is estimated to cost $184 million, with the process plant alone costing about $104 million to develop, according to Pilbara’s pre-feasibility study on Pilgangoora.

A consortium comprising RCR Tomlinson, Primero Group and Minnovo has been shortlisted for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, competing against a joint venture between Como Engineers and Ausenco, and a collaboration between Hatch and Kiewit Australia.

Pilbara plans to facilitate a competitive early contractor involvement arrangement, which will be a partially funded exercise between the three contracting parties.

“By adopting an ECI arrangement, we will be able to compress the timeframe for the EPC selection process, allowing us to achieve our key objective of commissioning the project in Q4 2017 while still maintaining a highly competitive process that ensures we get the best possible outcome for the project and our shareholders,” Pilbara managing director Ken Brinsden said.

Pilbara expects to award a final EPC contract over the next three months, along with a mining contract.

Six contractors and two standalone drill and blast contractors have submitted pricing estimates for the mining contract, with Pilbara planning to conduct a shortlist for an upcoming tender process.

Meanwhile, Mr Brinsden said the appointment of project management consultancy Engenium to assist with the delivery with Pilgangoora, as part of an integrated owner’s project management team, was essential in achieving the company’s fast-track development schedule.

“We are very pleased to have Engenium on board and we look forward to the value they will no doubt bring to the table,” he said.

“They have extensive experience working in the Pilbara, having delivered many mining operations historically for junior, mid-tier players and major mining companies alike.”