Source : BUSINESS NEWS
Perenti has secured a five-year, $1.02 billion contract to continue providing underground mining services at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi gold mine in Ghana.
The Perth-based mining contractor won the billion-dollar deal through its African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) subsidiary, which has been active at the Obuasi site since 2019.
Under the contract, which is backdated to February 1, AUMS will manage underground development, production and mining services at the West African gold mine.
Better yet, Perenti won’t have to stump up new capital for the project; AngloGold Ashanti has agreed to front any major expenses between now and 2030.
Perenti chief executive Mark Norwell said the company was pleased to continue its relationship with the global gold miner.
“This agreement is a testament to the reliability and value provided by our contract mining division,” Mr Norwell said.
“Our extensive operational experience and the scale of our global underground business enables us to consistently deliver enduring value and certainty to our clients and shareholders.”
The Obuasi deal follows several recent developments for Perenti, including the announcement of a $500 million contract extension at the Agnew gold mine in Western Australia, operated by South African producer Gold Fields.
That three-year contract, awarded to Perenti subsidiary Barminco, includes an option to extend for a further 12 months and will be backdated to January 1, 2025.
Barminco has been operating at Agnew since 2010 and currently employs more than 300 staff across its underground operations.
The two recent underground mining deals — worth a combined $1.52 billion — come as Perenti realigns its portfolio.
The mining services firm recently confirmed it would exit the Khoemacau copper project in Botswana.
Despite generating more than $1 billion in revenue at Khoemacau over five and a half years, the company announced in April that the operation had failed to meet its internal financial benchmarks.
Consequently, Perenti will sell its equipment at the site back to MMG, the mine’s owner, with operations set to cease on 30 June.
The contractor retains a presence in Botswana through its work at Sandfire Resources’ Motheo copper project.
AngloGold’s Obuasi is located in Ghana’s Ashanti region and is one of AngloGold Ashanti’s flagship operations.
It’s home to a 6.75-million-ounce gold reserve and produced more than 220,000 ounces of the yellow metal by the end of 2024.
While Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa and the sixth largest globally, it faces ongoing challenges in tackling widespread illegal gold mining, known locally as “galamsey”.
Tragically, the Obuasi mine made global headlines in January after a confrontation between Ghana’s militia and allegedly illegal miners led to seven deaths, according to the Ghanian army.
