Thiess, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited, (LEI) has secured a $800M contract from Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd (WES) to continue overburden pre-strip at its Curragh North Mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The company began operations at Curragh North in October 2004 and was awarded a $260 million contract extension in 2008 after exceeding production and safety targets. The new contract will see Thiess at the mine for a further ten years. Thiess will invest a further $50 million into the project by introducing a new fleet of Ultra Class trucks to complement the existing plant at the mine. The 360 tonne payload trucks will be loaded by a 110 tonne capacity electric rope shovel which will be purchased by Wesfarmers Curragh and operated and maintained by Thiess.
Welcoming today’s announcement, Managing Director David Saxelby said he was pleased the strong relationship between Thiess and Wesfarmers Curragh would continue well into the future. “We are certainly proud of our joint achievements at Curragh North. This contract not only reflects the quality of what we have been able to deliver for Wesfarmers Curragh but also our confidence in and commitment to, the resource sector.” Mr Saxelby said. Wesfarmers Resources Managing Director Stewart Butel said Thiess was awarded the long- term contract after winning a competitive tender process. “We are very pleased to be continuing the excellent relationship we have with Thiess who have undertaken infrastructure construction, overburden removal and coal mining works at our Curragh North operation and we look forward to continuing this relationship over the next 10 years,” Mr Butel said.



