Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Roy Hill Holdings has awarded a construction contract, believed to be worth $46 million, to Perkins Builders for a new corporate headquarters and remote operations centre.
The building, to be developed at Perth international airport, is another indication of the progress being achieved on the $9.5 billion Roy Hill iron ore project.
It also highlights the growing use of automation technology, such as driverless trucks, by all of the big iron ore miners, which are keen to cap their operating costs in the Pilbara.
The construction contract is a big win for Perkins Builders; the project will be the largest undertaken by the Bunbury-based company.
Roy Hill Holdings is expected to have 400 staff working at the new building, from where it will control its iron ore mine, rail and port facilities in the Pilbara.
The building will incorporate 9,000 square metres of office space, basement parking for 100 cars and a canteen with alfresco terrace.
A Roy Hill spokesman said the building will provide a “truly integrated model for operational management”.
“The new remote operations centre will also manage the end-to-end automation of mining and infrastructure operations to set new industry standards for operational efficiency and reliability,” the spokesman said.
“This will enable the introduction of the highest levels of critical planning and scheduling to facilitate the optimisation of business and management decisions.”
The company plans to initially introduce pilot automation for a small number of trucks and trains with a view to expanding capacity over time.
The establishment of Ro Hill’s remote operations centre follows the opening three years ago of Rio Tinto’s operations centre near the domestic airport.
Rio has led the industry in the area of automation, and is planning to make a larger investment. It signed a deal late last year to buy at least 150 driverless trucks from manufacturer, Komatsu, over the next four years.
Other big iron ore miners are heading in a similar direction. BHP Billiton is working on a project known as the Integrated Remote Operations Centre, while Fortescue Metals Group has struck a deal with WesTrac to have 45 automated Caterpillar trucks operating on its Solomon project by 2015.
The Roy Hill project involves construction of a new mine with output of 55 million tonnes per year, a 300 kilometre railway to Port Hedland and new wharves and shiploading facilities. First ore is rue to be shipped in the first half of 2014, and it will employ 1600 workers in the Pilbara.
South Korea’s Posco and STX Corp, Japanese trading house Marubeni and Taiwanese steelmaker China Steel Corporation invested $3.2 billion earlier this year for a combined 30 per cent stake in the holding company.
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has retained a 70 per cent stake.
Perkins was awarded the construction contract following a competitive tender and presentation process. The tenderers were short listed from an expression of interest process.
Perkins business development manager Rod Sproule said “we are delighted to be awarded this tender for what will be a high tech central automation hub for the Roy Hill project as well as the corporate headquarters for Roy Hill Holdings Pty Ltd”.
He said the project will create 300 new jobs and provide employment for some of Perkins eight apprentices.
The Roy Hill spokesman said the company was especially pleased to be working with a successful WA regionally-based company with a long history of family ownership.
