GR Engineering (ASX:GNG) has been awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) for the Kathleen Valley Lithium Blackfill Project in Western Australia.
Liontown, which has a market capitalisation of $3.39 billion, says the $71 million contract forms part of the company’s plans to deliver a paste plant facility to support underground mining operations at Kathleen.
Paste filling, also referred to as backfilling, is a way for miners to dispose of tailings while backfilling underground mine stopes.
The paste plant will include two trains capable of producing up to 160m3 of paste per hour and has been designed to accommodate future expansion of mining operations to 4 million tonnes per annum.
This will reduce the size of the surface tailings dam required at the mine.
Liontown says the paste plant has also been designed to facilitate dry stacking and water recovery, which will boost recycled water at the site.
Under an early works agreement, GR Engineering has already begun engineering, procurement, and site works.
Liontown notes the EPC is a standalone project, with the second train brought forward to provide latent capacity to de-risk operations, enable water recovery, and provide cost benefits associated with constructing the two trains together.
The contract forms part of a planned and budgeted stage of growth capital costs post first production. The cost will be covered under the previously announced $550 million financing facility.
Liontown Resources is an emerging battery minerals producer with two lithium deposits in Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Liontown Resources
