Western Areas continues to advance development of the long-life Odysseus nickel mine in Western Australia with the signing of two construction contracts.
The Odysseus contracts encompass a shaft haulage, infrastructure design, construction and equipping agreement with RUC Cementation Mining Contractors (RUC).
This follows the announcement of its Cosmos concentrator engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with GR Engineering Services (GRES).
According to a statement from Western Areas, both contractors have a proven track record successfully completing work for the company, with RUC the contractor responsible for the recent raise bore breakthrough at Odysseus, and GRES the EPC contractor for its Forrestania Cosmic Boy concentrator.
“These new contracts represent a significant component of the pre-production capex for the project, which has an expected mine life of at least 10 years, and securing the work packages significantly reduces the potential risk of price inflation in Odysseus’ development,” Western Areas stated.
“The primary ventilation upgrade at Odysseus has also commenced, with the installation of the primary fans set to be commissioned next month.
“This will significantly improve the underground ventilation conditions and allow further advancement of development metres.”
Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher said the project is ramping up at considerable pace, with extensive development and construction activities progressing, in tandem with the company generating strong interest for offtake tenders for new nickel sulphide supply into the class one nickel market.
”The award of these major packages of work to two highly regarded contractors also marks another substantial milestone in the progression of Odysseus, significantly de-risking the project both in monetary terms and project schedule,” Lougher said.
Western Areas produced first ore at its Odysseus project within the Cosmos nickel operation in Western Australia last month, marking a significant milestone for the miner’s new long-life mine.
The ore will be stockpiled as Western Areas completes construction of its concentrator complex, due to produce first concentrate in the December quarter of 2022.