The contract will see NRW cover stage one operations at Roper Bar, including drilling and blasting, loading and hauling, clearing and grubbing, top-soil and subsoil removal and rehandling ore stockpiles.

The stage one of Roper Bar project is expected to produce 4.6 million tonnes of direct shipping ore (DSO) and a million tonnes of dense media separation (DMS) at a rate of 1.5-1.8 million tonnes per annum over three years.

NRW will provide its services for a period of 33 months, with 55 personnel expected to be on-site during peak period.

NRW chief executive and managing director Jules Pemberton said the company was proud to be involved in the project.

“NRW is pleased to be involved in the recommencement of the Nathan River mine site and looks forward to its successful execution,” Pemberton said.

The Roper Bar iron ore project has a fully integrated pit to port logistics chain within the Northern Territory.

This includes 171 kilometres of paved access road, connecting the mine to an existing barge load-out facility and product stockyard.