Genesis Minerals awards $225 million contract for construction of Tower Hill processing plant at Leonora

GR Engineering Services has been tasked with building the $225 million processing plant at Genesis Minerals’ Tower Hill project at Leonora. Genesis told the market on Monday that GR Engineering Services would be responsible for the design, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning for the mill, which will have a processing capacity of 3.5 to four million tonnes per annum. The company said the project had an additional $40m cost which included critical spares, owner’s expenses and scope contingency, meaning a total anticipated capital cost of $250m to $280m. Genesis said about $20m of critical path long-lead items would be ordered immediately, including a ball mill, SAG mill, crushers and feeders. The company said the existing Leonora mill would be placed on care and maintenance following the commissioning of Tower Hill. Tower Hill, 2km north of the Gwalia mine, is being developed as a single open pit, has an ore reserve of one million ounces at 2g per tonne, and an operating strip ratio of 9:1. Genesis executive chairman Raleigh Finlayson said the awarding of the mill contract would ensure Tower Hill was on track for production in the 2028 financial year. “As well as playing a pivotal role in our production growth, the new mill will deliver substantial savings,” he said. “It will remove the need to transport Tower Hill ore 100km to Laverton and will result in significantly lower operating costs compared with the older and smaller Leonora plant.” The development of Tower Hill follows the signing of agreements to move the area’s railway line away from the gold project. Genesis in November said it had reached agreement with rail owner the Public Transport Authority and operators Arc Infrastructure and Aurizon, enabling the rail line at Leonora to be shortened. The gold miner said shortening the line would enable the planned Tower Hill open pit to be developed to the size required to fully access the deposit. Mr Finlayson said the rail agreements would deliver immense benefits for everyone involved, including the Leonora community. “These include reducing heavy vehicle movements through the town, improving safety and helping to unlock the town centre,” he said.