Macmahon’s $240m Ravensthorpe underground: scope and risk notes for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Macmahon Underground has been named preferred tenderer for a proposed $240 million underground mining contract at Medallion Metals’ Ravensthorpe gold project in Western Australia, covering portal establishment, primary development, production and associated works. The scope points to a full-service underground package likely including decline access, level development and stoping infrastructure, consolidating Macmahon’s presence in WA hard-rock gold. Final award remains subject to contract execution, so detailed schedules, equipment deployment and ground support strategies are yet to be confirmed.
Technical Brief
- Scope bundles both development and production activities into a single integrated underground services package.
- Contract award remains conditional on final commercial agreement and formal execution between Medallion and Macmahon.
- Selection of a preferred tenderer signals transition from study phase towards execution planning for underground works.
- Ravensthorpe project location in WA implies typical constraints of remote logistics, workforce access and supply chains.
- Integrated contract structure can simplify interface risk between decline development, level access and stoping operations.
Our Take
Macmahon Underground’s recent wins at the Mt Marion lithium operation and the Central Tanami gold project suggest it is consolidating a strong underground services pipeline in Western Australia and the broader interior, which can give Medallion Metals access to a contractor with current regional cost and labour benchmarks.
The helicopter-borne EM survey Medallion Metals is running over the Ravensthorpe gold project indicates the resource model is still being actively refined, so locking in a preferred underground contractor at this stage likely aims to shorten the study‑to‑development transition once targets are converted to mineable inventory.
Within our 1280 Mining stories, gold projects in Western Australia appear frequently in the Projects and Contract Award tags, signalling that Ravensthorpe will be competing for underground crews and equipment in a relatively tight local contractor market where Macmahon Underground already has multiple commitments.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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