Ausenco secured a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for the Phase 2 expansion of Tonkolili Iron Ore’s iron ore project in Sierra Leone.
The Tonkolili Phase 2 expansion involves the development of a process plant and related infrastructure, targeting additional production of up to 10Mt per annum of concentrate. The Innovate phase work will commence immediately and is expected to be completed by mid-2014. Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said, “Tonkolili is amongst the most advanced new iron ore projects of significant scale in recent years. This contract award further increases Ausenco’s work on hand in the APAC/Africa region, builds upon our experience in West Africa and expands our global experience in the iron ore sector.”
Ausenco previously operated and maintained Phase 1 of the project from 2011 to 2012, as well as carrying out engineering and procurement for Phase 1b plants. The expansion will take annual production above current production target of 20Mt of iron ore per annum to include the production of a high-grade concentrate from 2016. Tonkolili has a JORC-compliant resource of 12.8Gt.
Initial expenditure for the construction of the concentrator and associated facilities will be funded from existing restricted funds of approximately USD 300M, with the balance sourced through project-level debt finance.
