Contractor engineer NRW has been awarded a five-year, A$702 million mining services contract with Karara Mining for its namesake iron ore mine in the Shire of Perenjori, Western Australia.

The formal execution of the transaction follows the pair’s letter of intent on their plans, inked 18 June.

Scope of work includes load and haul, drill and blast and ROM re-handling, with the drill and blast component to be undertaken by NRW’s wholly owned subsidiary Action Drill and Blast.

Additionally, the work will include train loading and rehandling of product stockpiles and miscellaneous dayworks at the mine site, camp and access roads.

With a workforce of about 200, NRW will commence its work in March 2022. Key mining equipment required for the project: three 600-tonne excavators and a fleet of 220-t trucks, all of which are being gradually mobilised to the site for commissioning.

Karara, the largest mining operation and the first major magnetite mine in the Mid West, produces high-grade concentrate for steelmaking export and has an expected mine life of more than 30 years.

Source: NRW