Ramelius–Primero Mount Magnet expansion: process design notes for plant engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
NRW Holdings’ subsidiary Primero Group has secured the EPC contract for Ramelius Resources’ Mount Magnet Expansion Project in Western Australia, covering a major upgrade of the gold processing plant. The works will reconfigure processing infrastructure to integrate multiple ore sources into a single production hub, shifting Mt Magnet towards a centralised treatment model. For plant and process engineers, the project signals upcoming brownfield tie-ins, debottlenecking of existing circuits and potential changes to comminution and leach residence times to handle more variable feed.
Technical Brief
- Scope includes brownfield modifications to the existing Mt Magnet plant plus new-build process infrastructure.
- Primero’s work package is expected to commence immediately, aligning with Ramelius’ broader Mt Magnet growth schedule.
- Integration of multiple ore sources will require coordinated shutdowns and tie-ins on a live operating plant.
- NRW notes the award lifts its forward order book, indicating multi-year construction and services continuity at site.
- For other WA gold hubs, the project reinforces the economic case for centralised treatment over multiple small plants.
Our Take
NRW Holdings’ broader workload in Western Australia, including recent extensions at the Karara magnetite operation and Rio Tinto’s West Angelas sustaining project, suggests Primero’s Mount Magnet EPC work will sit within an already heavily committed WA project pipeline, which can influence contractor pricing and schedule risk for Ramelius Resources.
Ramelius Resources’ appearance in recent coverage around Cyclone Narelle-related port closures in WA underlines that the Mt Magnet production hub is exposed not only to execution risk on this expansion but also to regional weather and logistics disruptions that have already affected other gold and iron ore operators.
Within our mining project and contract-award coverage, NRW Holdings and its subsidiaries feature frequently in Western Australian iron ore and coal work, so this Mount Magnet expansion adds a gold-focused processing and infrastructure reference that may strengthen Primero’s position in future precious metals tenders in the state.
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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