Australia & NZ

Monadelphous in $140m contract with Worsley Alumina


Printer Friendly Send Article Subscribe Bookmark and Share

8/10/2008 - Engineering firm Monadelphous Group Ltd has secured a $140 million contract as part of the $2.5 billion expansion of the BHP Billiton Ltd-operated Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia.

The contract is part of the `Efficiency and Growth Expansion Project' that will increase capacity at the refinery, in the state's south-west, from 3.5 million to 4.6 million tonnes a year.

Monadelphous will undertake structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation works.

Monadelphous managing director Rob Velletri said that the proposed works continued a long association with the Worsley Alumina joint venture, which is 86 per cent-held by BHP Billiton.

Japan Alumina Associates and Japan's Sojitz Alumina hold the remaining 10 per cent and four per cent interest, respectively.

Velletri said the contract was a positive reinforcement of Monadelphous's "ability to seamlessly undertake large-scale, multidisciplinary engineering construction projects".

He said it also vindicated the company's decision to expand its maintenance and industrial services division in WA last year.

Monadelphous said pre-construction works had been approved and would commence immediately.

The contracted works are expected to be completed by the third quarter of calendar 2010.

BHP Billiton said in May that it expected first production at the expanded refinery in the first half of calendar 2011.

It said Worsley was one of the largest, lowest-cost and most efficient alumina refineries in the world, and the investment in further production capacity underlined Worsley Alumina's confidence in the future of the alumina market.

Shares in Monadelphous rose 35 cents, or 3.04 per cent, to close at $11.85.

Monadelphous had plunged an intraday low of $10.50 but rebounded, along with the broader market, on news that the Reserve Bank of Australia would cut the overnight cash rate by a full percentage point, the largest single easing in 16 years.

Source: AAP NewsWire

Related News
Manufacturing activity has contracted to new low,survey
IPOs in 2009 may lift, after poor year in 2008,says PwC
Better than expected profits are good sign : economists
Figures show economy plodding along in September qtr
Big Three US automakers are to present recovery plans
Rio eyes "go slow" at its Pilbara mines on less demand
Speculation rife that BHP plans a takeover of Fortescue
Find information and suppliers:
Business & Office Products & Services
Construction Equipment & Building Materials
Electrical & Power Equipment
Industrial Consumables & Services
Industrial Machinery & Equipment
Materials Handling Equipment & Storage
Metalworking Equipment, Machines & Tools
Test, Measurement & Instrumentation

Send this article to a colleague


 
To:  
  
From:  
   
Message:
(Optional)
 
Confirm:  
Protected by FormShield