The open pit services will include drill and blast, and load and haul activities, with around 11 million bank cubic metres of ore and waste to be moved a year using a fleet of 180-tonne dump trucks.

The contract is expected to generate around $410 million in revenue for MACA and can potentially be extended by Capricorn.

MACA chief executive Mike Sutton said the company had a long-standing working relationship with the management team of Capricorn.

“(We) look forward to partnering with Capricorn to successfully deliver the Karlawinda gold project,” he said. “This mining contract adds further to MACA’s strong work in hand position in the gold sector.”

MACA’s work in hand position now stands at $2.7 billion, up from the recently declared $2.3 billion.

The company expects to commence ancillary works at Karlawinda in December, with mining activities to follow shortly after.

Capricorn aims to increase the Karlawinda throughput to five million tonnes a year, up from the previously anticipated 3.5–4 million tonnes a year.

First gold production is targeted for the June 2021 quarter.