Donald Mineral Sands (DMS) has awarded a $135m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to China Machinery Engineering (CMEC) for the company’s Astron Donald Mineral Sands titanium and zirconium mineral project.
The Donald mineral sands project is located in Australia’s Murray Basin and is expected to be an open-cut mining operation. It would have an expected mine life of 31 years.
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Upon completion of mining, conventional methods will be used to process minerals to produce heavy mineral concentrate.
The mine site is located in close proximity to existing infrastructure, with accessibility to road, rail and port networks.
Under the contract, CMEC will supply and install equipment for the project’s mining unit plant (MUP) and wet concentration plant (WCP), as well as providing assistance with funding its initial phase.
CMEC is responsible for the purchase of equipment.
The contract includes all design, procurement, civil engineering and construction, installation, training, commissioning, technical service, and other works relating to the project.
Astron subsidiary DMS will finance 15% of the project’s cost, which is around $18m.
Funding provided by CMEC will be in the form of seller’s credit from a Chinese bank or any other channel.
The contract is subject to various conditions, including an insurance application with Sinosure being approved and the premium paid.
DMS also needs to obtain all necessary rights and regulatory approvals.
The companies are given ten months to meet the conditions. However, there is an option to extend the time period up to 12 months.
