Sydney-based Worley Ltd. has been selected as the preferred service provider for Anglo American Plc’s Woodsmith polyhalite project in northeast England. As a result, Worley has been awarded the program management agreement (PMA) for the project, under which it will provide project management, concept engineering, and design services, the Australian company said on Oct. 18.
The PMA also includes the substantive terms for Worley to provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) services, which will be completed under separate agreements as the Woodsmith project progresses.
The Woodsmith project is likely to include two deep shafts and an underground mineral transport system, where a 37 kilometer conveyor belt will transport ore for processing and export at a dedicated material handling and port facility. The operations will be integrated and automated from mine to port to support safety, efficiency, and flexibility.
Project services will be executed by Worley’s UK offices, with support from a number of Worley’s global Centres of Excellence.
Anglo American has yet to indicate any projected timeline for Woodsmith, or to indicate an initial production target. Last year, it said it was targeting total production of up to 10 million mt/y of Poly4, the marketed form of polyhalite (GM Aug. 6, 2021).
In late 2021, Anglo completed a detailed technical review of the project to ensure the technical and commercial integrity of the full scope of its design (GM Dec. 10, 2021). Anglo in March said it expected to make a number of changes to the phasing of work, particularly in relation to the two main shafts (GM March 4, p. 30).