Kinross has selected Wood to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services to Kinross Gold for the Phase Two expansion of the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania.
The award follows Wood’s early involvement in the project executing the feasibility study for the Phase Two expansion and reinforces the company’s longstanding global leadership in the development of gold mines. The project is expected to increase mill capacity to 30,000 metric tons per day (mt/d) to produce an average of approximately 812,000 ounces per year (oz/y) of gold for the first five years, and is Kinross Gold’s second of a planned two-phase expansion.
Wood’s scope of work includes engineering, procurement and construction management for the addition of a new downstream processing plant fed by milled product from the semi-autogenous grinding mill installed during the initial expansion. Commercial production for Phase Two is expected in Q3 2020.
“Winning this contract is a testament to our extensive international gold expertise and ability to work across all phases of a project to support our customers globally,” said Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood’s Specialist Technical Solutions business. “We look forward to continuing our growing partnership with Kinross Gold on this important project for Mauritania’s mining industry.”
Over the past three decades, Wood’s mining and minerals business has successfully delivered more than 125 gold projects globally for key customers in the industry. This includes the current EPC contract for the Gruyere gold project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Australia.
In related news, Wood was honored alongside K+S Potash Canada with the Hatch/CIM Mining & Minerals Project Development Safety Award recognizing the outstanding project safety systems, culture and performance achieved during the project execution of K+S Potash Canada’s Bethune mine in Saskatchewan. The award was presented at a gala hosted during the annual CIM conference in Vancouver.
