Primero receives engineering design contract from Agrimin

Under the contract, the NRW Holdings subsidiary will also deliver the associated non-process infrastructure at the 426,000 tonne per annum sulphate of potash (SOP) project.

Primero had already completed a definitive feasibility study of the process plant in July 2019, making it well placed to receive the FEED contract.

Novopro Projects will continue in its role as project consultant at Mackay.

Following the FEED contract, Primero will provide Agrimin with an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, which will allow Agrimin to proceed with a final investment decision.

The project is projected to contain 123 million tonnes of SOP at a processed grade of 52 per cent potassium oxide.

After the project was granted its major project status by the Australian government in 2020, Australia’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews described just how important the Mackay potash project was to the industry and the country.

“The project will create approximately 300 jobs during construction and 200 jobs during operations and is estimated to support more than 600 jobs through the broader region and supply chain,” Andrews said.

“Value-adding to our critical minerals offers Australia huge economic opportunities but given this fertiliser is used extensively by our farmers, it can also further strengthen our sovereign capability.”

As the world’s largest undeveloped SOP brine deposit, Mackay’s estimated 20-year lifespan is aiming to produce $315 million in annual sales revenue.

Agrimin’s Mackay potash project includes the mine, processing plant, integrated logistics chain and port facility.