Australian mining service company Perenti has been awarded a 60 month contract at Newmont’s Subika underground gold mine worth $630 million.
The 60 month contract was awarded through Perenti’s UMA joint venture between its subsidiary company African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) and Rocksure International, a local Ghanaian civil and mining contractor.
The new 60 month contract is made effective as of January 1 2023, and states through the UMA joint venture that Perenti will assume all underground development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated support services at the Subika mine.
Additionally, Newmont is expected to acquire the current fleet of underground equipment associated with the Subika mine and will be responsible for the acquisition of additional fleet required for the project.
AUMS commenced Subika’s development and production in 2017 and the new 60 month contract will reduce the capital intensity of the project for Perenti while still delivering strong returns.
The Subika gold mine is located approximately 310 kilometres northwest of Accra, Ghana, and will see AUMS work with Newmont to provide greater than 40,000m of development over five years, 1.3 megatons of production per annum, and over 164,000m of diamond drilling and significant vertical development.
Perenti expects to finalise the sale of these assets before the end of the 2023 financial year, with Perenti chief executive officer Mark Norwell saying the company is pleased to continue delivering value to Newmont and its other Ghana stakeholders.
“With this new contract, Perenti not only expands its tenure in Ghana but furthers its relationship with Newmont, the world’s leading gold company with a world-class portfolio of assets in favourable mining jurisdictions,” Norwell said.