Weir Group PLC on Tuesday said it has been awarded a £53 million contract for work on the Reko Diq project in Pakistan.
The Glasgow, Scotland-based engineering company, which provides solutions for the minerals and mining technology market, will provide ‘industry-leading’ redefined flowsheet solutions for the copper-gold project.
Weir Group said the contract will be recognised in its order book through a phased call-off ‘aligned with manufaturing lead times’. The first order of £26 million will be recognised ‘immediately’ in the third quarter, while the remaining orders will be booked in the final quarter and in early 2025.
Weir said it will provide fine grinding, separation and tailings solutions during the first phase of the project. Once the equipment is commissioned, it will provide aftermarket support through ‘an on-site purpose-built service centre staffed with Weir technical personnel’.
The Reko Diq project, located in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, is 50% owned by Toronto-based miner Barrick Gold Corp, with three federal state-owned enterprises and the Balochistan local government sharing the other half. It is aiming for first production in 2028, and has a 40-year estimated mine life.
Weir noted that any receipt of the Reko Diq orders during 2024 will not change its full-year guidance as of July 30.
‘We are delighted to have secured this significant contract which represents further industry acceptance of Weir’s differentiated sustainable and cost-effective redefined flowsheet solution, with our market leading [high-pressure grinding roll] technology particularly suited for the water-scarce climate and geology of the Reko Diq copper-gold project,’ commented Weir’s Chief Executive Officer Jon Stanton.
‘Barrick is pleased to be partnering with Weir in delivering sustainable mining and processing in the new mining frontier of Balochistan,’ added Barrick CEO Mark Bristow. ‘The Reko Diq project will grow Barrick’s strategically significant copper and gold portfolios, benefiting all its Pakistan and Balochistan stakeholders.’
Shares in Weir Group traded 0.3% higher at 1,938.00 pence in London on Tuesday morning. Barrick Gold shares traded 0.5% higher at $20.32 each pre-market in New York.
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