Junior sulfate of potash (SOP) producer Agrimin Ltd., Nedlands, Western Australia, on May 13 reported that it has awarded Primero Group, a subsidiary of NRW Holdings Ltd., the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for the process plant and associated non-process infrastructure for the Mackay Project located near the East Pilbara town of Kiwirrkurra in Western Australia.
Primero was initially appointed in July 2019 on an Early Contractor Involvement basis to complete the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) engineering design for the process plant. Agrimin said Primero’s appointment for the DFS phase followed a competitive process, at that time, to select a contractor with suitable experience and capabilities to complete the engineering design, as well as the subsequent design and construction of the process plant.
Given the successful completion of the DFS and the recent Independent Technical Review, Agrimin has now appointed Primero to commence the FEED phase. The FEED works will be undertaken with the support of Novopro Projects Inc., which will continue in its role as process consultant. At the completion of the FEED works, Primero will deliver to Agrimin an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contact, inclusive of performance guarantees, to support a Final Investment Decision.
According to Agrimin, Lake Mackay is the largest known potash-bearing salt lake in Australia, comparable in size, but smaller than other such lakes – Great Salt Lake in the U.S. and Lop Nur in China.
In January 2020, the company reported that it had upgraded its Mineral Resource estimate for the Mackay potash project to 123.4 million mt, up some 470 percent from the 26.1 million mt listed in a May 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) (GM Jan 24, 2020). The initial PFS foresaw SOP capacity of 426,000 mt/y, with all production shipped through the company’s Wyndham Port Facility, some 785 km from the project, to world markets.