GR wins EPC contract on $198m gold project

Claremont-based Geopacific Resources has appointed GR Engineering Services as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the processing plant at its Woodlark gold project in Papua New Guinea.

The two parties signed a conditional letter of intent for GR to develop a 2.4 million tonne per annum processing plant which includes a carbon in leach facility, tailings line and other supporting infrastructure.

Geopacific said the final contract is expected to be in the form of a guaranteed maximum price and will be signed following the agreement of final terms and conditions.

In the interim, GR can commence early works to procure tenders and order long lead time items, such as ball mills.

Geopacific managing director Ron Heeks said GR Engineering has a strong reputation in successfully designing and constructing processing plants on time for a guaranteed maximum price.

“Geopacific is confident that their recent experience in PNG and strong track record in constructing similar projects will greatly de-risk the construction of Woodlark,” Mr Heeks said.

In November, Geopacific released its definitive feasibility study on the project, which detailed a capital expenditure of $198.5 million.

Development is set to commence in early 2020.

The project is set to produce 967,000 ounces of gold over a 13-year production life, with a payback period of 2.2 years.

The project is located on Woodlark Island, which is 600 kilometres east of Papua New Guinea’s capital of Port Moresby.