Perenti Limited and its UMA joint venture African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) has been awarded a new five-year, A$630 million deal for work at the Newmont Subika underground gold mine in Ghana.
Under the terms of the contract, which is effective from 1 January 2023, Perenti will perform all underground development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated support services at Subika, located northwest of Accra, Ghana, under the UMA JV. UMA is a joint venture (70:30) between Perenti’s subsidiary, AUMS and Rocksure International, a local Ghanaian civil and mining contractor.
Newmont will also now, under the new terms, acquire the current fleet of underground equipment associated with the project and will also be responsible for the acquisition of additional fleet as required.
“Perenti expects that this capital strategy will have significant benefits, but primarily will reduce the capital intensity of the project while still delivering strong returns,” the company said, noting that it is expecting to finalise the sale of the assets before the end of the current fiscal year.
As a part of Newmont’s larger Ahafo complex, AUMS commenced development and production activities at the Subika underground mine in mid-2017.
“With this new contract, Perenti not only expands its tenure in Ghana but furthers its relationship with Newmont,” MD and CEO Mark Norwell said.
“We are very pleased that we will continue to deliver value and certainly to Newmont and our other stakeholders in Ghana and beyond.”
Paul Muller, President Contract Mining, added: “Ausdrill commenced operations in Ghana in 1991 and with this 60-month contract, Perenti through its subsidiaries, will have accumulated nearly 40 years of in-country expertise with a strong track record of prioritising local procurement, training and employment opportunities across a wide range of local and regional Ghanaian stakeholders.”
Source: perentigroup.com