470 Australian jobs created by Amrun

Rio Tinto’s world-class Amrun bauxite project in far north Queensland has created 470 Australian jobs with the fabrication of key components made with 95 per cent Australian steel.

Last year West Australian supplier Civmec was awarded a A$160 million contract to construct a processing facility including a beneficiation plant and associated water, electrical and lighting systems for the project.

Fabrication, pre-cast manufacture and assembly work for the new facility have been taking place at Civmec’s Henderson facility in Perth, Western Australia. Approximately 350 employees including subcontractors have been employed to work on fabrication and another 120 on module assembly.

Rio Tinto Amrun Project director Marcia Hanrahan said "Fabrication of these components has showcased best practice Australian manufacturing using 4,000 tonnes of Australian steel.

"Construction of the processing facility has created hundreds of jobs in Western Australia, in addition to our current Amrun workforce of around 1,200 in Queensland.

"Almost 80 per cent of the Amrun workforce are Queenslanders including 176 indigenous employees of which 43 are local Aboriginal people. We are proud of the supplier and employment opportunities we have created for Australians and there will be more to come."

The beneficiation modules will form the central facility of the plant where bauxite from the Amrun mine will be washed and screened onsite before being shipped to customers.

In October a heavy load vessel transported three beneficiation modules and a transfer tower into the Port of Weipa signalling the project is on schedule for completion in early 2019.

The imposing modules each weigh over 1,200 tonnes with dimensions of up to 16 metres wide, 25 metres long and 30 metres high.

The remaining three modules are currently being fabricated in Perth and will arrive in mid-November.

About the Amrun Project

The Amrun Project is located on south of the Embley River, between Weipa and Aurukun. At the request of Traditional Owners, the project is known as Amrun - the Wik Waya name for the area. The project includes the construction of a bauxite mine, accommodation village, processing plant, dam, tailings storage facility, export wharf, ferry terminal, and a number of roads.

Bechtel is the company responsible for constructing and managing the Amrun Project. Bechtel will work with a range of subcontractors to deliver a world-class bauxite mine facility for Rio Tinto to operate hand-in-hand with Western Cape communities from 2019 and beyond.