Mining and Heavy Industries

Rio Tinto selects contractor for $137M Koodaideri railway

Rio Tinto has awarded a $137 million contract to build new rail infrastructure for its Koodaideri iron ore project.

NRW Holdings will deliver around 73 kilometres of new rail embankment, a new mine access road and associated road works along the Koodaideri rail alignment.

It is expected to take around 70 weeks to complete, with site works commencing in August 2019. The contract will involve more than 300 site-based personnel at its peak.

NRW Chief Executive Officer Jules Pemberton welcomed the contract and said he was confident about the successful delivery of the project given the company’s experience in the region.

“I am delighted that NRW has been awarded the Koodaideri Rail Formation South contract by Rio Tinto,” he said.

Related stories:

“NRW has a long history of civil construction expertise in the Pilbara and has been involved in the successful delivery of numerous greenfield and brownfield projects for Rio Tinto since 2002.”

Rio Tinto last year announced a $3.5 billion investment in Koodaideri, which is poised to become the company’s next major Pilbara hub, combining advanced automation and digitised technology.

The mine requires a 170-kilometre rail spur to connect it to the existing Rio Tinto Iron Ore rail network that lies in the northwest of Western Australia.

This will allow for the transportation of the iron ore product to either the Dampier or Cape Lambert ports.

Engineering and construction company Clough was also awarded a contract for the construction of the northern rail formation for Koodaideri earlier this month.

Send this to a friend