NRW Holdings Wins Pilbara Mining Contract from Rio Tinto

By Joel ScanlonMay 1 2011

Mining contractor NRW Holdings has bagged a contract from Rio Tinto for earthworks and primary civil works in the Pilbara region. The $160 million worth 12 month contract will see work at the Brockman project and the Western Turner Syncline project.

The contract is to be undertaken by NRW Holdings as a joint venture with Eastern Guruma Pty Ltd. The joint venture owned by indigenous Australians will look after construction work for expanding the iron ore mines owned by Rio Tinto. The expansion will help the mining giant reach its target capacity of 333 million tons a year in Pilbara by 2015.

This is the second contract that by NRW Holdings and Eastern Guruma Pty Ltd have been awarded as a joint venture. The traditional owners of the region had been awarded a $200 million contract in 2009 to construct and operate the Western Turner Syncline mine. In the current joint venture NRW Holdings will use a workforce of around 550.

Rio Tinto Chief Sam Walsh said that the company had worked long and hard at building their Aboriginal employment levels across their Australian operations, and that work continues. But it is equally important that they support indigenous business participation, such as this joint venture.