Perpetua–Hatch Stibnite EPCM award: design and risk notes for mine engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Perpetua Resources has appointed Hatch as EPCM contractor for the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho, moving the long‑planned open-pit gold–antimony operation towards development ahead of a final investment decision targeted for spring 2026. Hatch will lead detailed engineering, procurement and construction management for the mine, processing plant and associated infrastructure, following what Perpetua described as a highly competitive selection process. The decision signals upcoming demand for geotechnical design, tailings and water management solutions on a complex brownfield site with legacy environmental liabilities.
Technical Brief
- EPCM scope covers mine, process plant and all supporting site infrastructure under a single integrator.
- Hatch’s mandate includes detailed engineering, procurement, construction management and commissioning support across all project areas.
- Contract award follows a multi-stage, competitive technical and commercial evaluation run by Perpetua Resources.
- Early EPCM involvement enables constructability input into pit design, waste rock placement and haul road geometry.
- Brownfield nature of Stibnite implies EPCM coordination of legacy disturbance remediation with new works sequencing.
- Integrated EPCM model should streamline interfaces between tailings, water management, access roads and power supply design.
Our Take
With a final investment decision on the Stibnite Gold Project not expected until spring 2026, Perpetua Resources is on a longer pre‑FID runway than projects like Artemis Gold’s Blackwater Phase 2 expansion, which our coverage shows has already moved into a committed build phase; this suggests Stibnite is still in a de‑risking and optimisation window where EPCM input can materially reshape scope and cost.
Among the 357 Mining stories in our database, most gold project items over the past year—such as Westgold’s Mt Henry–Selene divestment and Seabridge’s Courageous Lake spin‑out—centre on portfolio rationalisation rather than greenfield build decisions, so Perpetua’s move to lock in Hatch ahead of a 2026 FID signals intent to push Stibnite towards development rather than treat it as a tradable asset.
The 2026 decision horizon places Stibnite’s gold exposure alongside other long‑lead projects like McEwen’s El Gallo mill build, meaning Perpetua and Hatch will be designing into a price and cost environment that could look quite different from today, increasing the value of flexible EPCM strategies and modular execution options.
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.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.