Ausenco has been awarded a $15 million operations and maintenance service contract for the Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The Optimise phase contract involves the provision of operations and maintenance services to two onsite mobile crushing and screening modules for phase 1A of the Iron Ore Project. The contract commences immediately and runs until July 2012, providing an additional boost to Program Management’s growing recurring revenue base.

Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said the win built on Ausenco’s deep experience in Africa and expanded its broad expertise in the iron ore sector. “We are pleased to be extending our relationship with African Minerals beyond the design work we are currently completing for the 12 Mt/y crushing and beneficiation plant for Stage 1B of the Tonkolili Iron Ore Project,” he said. “The Tonkolili project is a demonstration of our strategy, with different Ausenco business lines working together on projects across its lifecycle.”

Meka said the win further built on the strong momentum Ausenco had created in the past six months, particularly within its Program Management business line. “We’ve grown our iron ore footprint and increased our Program Management workload considerably over the past year and we expect further growth in both of these areas in the future,” he said.

The Tonkolili project is located approximately 200 km north east of Freetown in Sierra Leone. Upon completion, the project has the potential to become one of the largest iron ore projects in the world.