NRW Holdings wins $80m crushing, conveyor contract at Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon Hub

NRW Holdings has booked $80 million of work at Fortescue Metals Group’s massive Solomon iron ore hub in the Pilbara. The contractor’s RCR Mining Technologies subsidiary will design and build the primary crushing plant and overland conveyor at the hub’s Queens project. The $US287 million ($370m) Queens mine will maintain Fortescue’s production rate at Solomon after depletion at the neighbouring Kings mine. Civil construction and earthworks on the plant and conveyor work will be undertaken by NRW’s Civil division and RCR will partner with takeover target Primero Group to provide engineering support and construction services for the project. Primero’s $30m share of the work pushes its committed order book for the financial year to $310 million. NRW’s DIAB Engineering will also offer design support. Directors of Primero last month threw their weight behind a $100 million offer lobbed by NRW late last year for the Perth-based company, which specialises in the design, construction and operation of mining projects. In a substantial holding update to the market this morning, NRW said it now holds almost 71 per cent of shares in Primero. “The integration of our new Minerals Energy and Technology team of RCR Mining Technologies, DIAB and Primero on a project such as this, combined with the NRW Civil and Mining team all focused on end-to-end delivery, is another milestone for the business,” said NRW chief executive Jules Pemberton. Primero managing director and chief executive Cameron Henry said the contract with RCR was the second package awarded of its type with Fortescue, and demonstrated the working relationship already built with the RCR teams. NRW copped a third consecutive strike against its remuneration report at its annual general meeting in November, with just over 42.3 per cent of shares voted cast against the pay deals for executives.. The re-election of chairman Michael Arnett also incurred a big protest vote of nearly 30 per cent. NWR shares were down one per cent at the start of trading this morning to $3.