Privately-owned Iron Mine Contracting says it now has more than A$1 billion of work in hand after winning a 39-month surface mining contract in Western Australia with Covalent Lithium.
Covalent, owned 50-50 by ASX-listed Wesfarmers and Chile’s SQM, is building production at its Mt Holland lithium mine, 105km south of Southern Cross.
Ten-year-old Iron Mine Contracting says it will deliver drill, blast, load and haul, and mine management services at Mt Holland from February next year, when it expects to have about 220 employees at the site. Iron Mine Contracting also provided contract services at Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley openpit lithium mine in WA.
The company says it is currently operating 10 iron ore, lithium and gold projects across the state. Clients include Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Northern Star Resources, Gold Fields and Meeka Metals.
“The competitiveness of our company’s owned asset strategy is increasingly being valued by mining companies and that is evident in this award from Covalent,” Iron Mine Contracting CEO Clinton Keenan said.
“As a privately owned contractor we are investing in people and equipment ahead of the curve, maintaining an agility to deliver what our mining clients require from their mining services provider.”
Keenan said in 2021 the company’s “five-year horizon sees us continue our growth into $200 million per annum in revenue for our business”.
