NRW announce that it has been awarded a five year contract to undertake mining services for the Middlemount Coal Project in Queensland, commencing July 1st 2011.

NRW had previously been appointed to undertake preliminary services as per the company’s 11 January, 2011 announcement, and has now reached agreement with Middlemount Coal Pty Ltd to undertake overburden removal and coal mining for a five year period. This contract will cover the commencement of ongoing mining operations in the second half of 2011 and ramp-up to more than 5 million tonne per annum of ROM coal once additional environmental approvals have been obtained.

In commenting on the award of the contract, NRW CEO Jules Pemberton said that “The mining services contract with Middlemount represents a major milestone for the company in its diversification strategy in terms of location, client and commodity. The contract, with a total value of up to USD 780 million, provides NRW with a substantial entry into the east coast market and in particular the highly attractive metallurgical coal sector.”

Capital expenditure for the project is expected to be in the range of USD 120 to USD 145 million over a period of 12 to 18 months. The contract will be undertaken using plant and equipment that NRW purchased from Comiskey Earthmoving Pty Ltd as per the company’s 11 March, 2011 announcement, as well as new equipment as production ramps up.

The Middlemount Project now means that NRW will have significant operations in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and now Queensland, as well as in West Africa.

The Middlemount Coal Project is a joint development between Macarthur Coal Limited and Gloucester Coal Limited. The Project is located 6km from the township of Middlemount and approximately 270km North West of Rockhampton.

(Sourced from www.proactiveinvestors.com.au)