Australian lithium producer Pilbara Minerals has awarded NRW Holdings’ subsidiary Primero Group circa-A$62 million of contract work associated with its $400 million P680 expansion project at Pilgangoora in Western Australia.
Primero, which has completed other contracts at Pilgangoora since its initial involvement at the site in 2017, will execute multiple phases of work over the next eight months on the new $254m, five million tonnes per annum crushing and ore sorting plant, and $150m heavy media separation (HMS) circuit.
The facilities are expected to expand spodumene concentrate production by 100,000 tonnes per annum to about 680,000tpa over the next 18 months.
Primero will complete earth and concrete works associated with both new facilities, as well as structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation installation for the HMS. It will also assist with commissioning, integration and shutdown support to tie the HMS plant into Pilgangoora’s existing Pilgan facility.
Pilbara Minerals expects to award construction contracts for the two new plants later this year.
Pilbara Minerals currently produces about 16% of the world’s hard-rock lithium supply, and 9% of total supply including brine-based output.
NRW is one of Australia’s largest contract mining, drilling and construction groups, with a current market value around $1.39 billion.
