PIMS Group awarded major five-year $425 million mining contract

A major five-year, $425 million contract for underground mining services at two mines located near Moranbah is expected to drive hundreds of Queensland jobs. FULL DETAILS.

PIMS Group has been awarded a major five-year $425 million contract for underground mining services at the Millennium and Mavis Downs Mine. Picture: Tessa Mapstone

PIMS Group has been awarded a major five-year, $425 million contract for underground mining services at the Millennium and Mavis Downs coal mines, which will create up to 100 mine construction jobs and more than 125 direct full-time mining jobs for the Central Queensland region.

The Millennium and Mavis Downs mines are owned by MetRes and located near Moranbah, next to Stanmore’s Isaac Downs project.

The company, which is a joint venture between Stanmore Resources and M Resources, acquired the mothballed Millennium and Mavis Down mines from Peabody Energy in July with an aim to ship its first coal in October.

The contract, which was announced by M Mining, covered underground mining, using the bord-and-pillar method, commencing with Mavis Downs and later transitioning to Millennium. Production would be more than 1.2 million tonnes run of mine each year from July 2022.

PIMS Group would be responsible for the establishment of required infrastructure including conveyor systems, ventilation, associated mine services and surface infrastructure.

The contract also provides for PIMS Group to supply new underground mining equipment, including two continuous miners, bolters and shuttle cars as well as a range of ancillary production equipment to support the operation.

The contract includes an option to extend the agreement to support 15 years mine life.

“We are very pleased to execute this agreement with PIMS Group, which will facilitate the long-term, sustainable and competitive operation of the Millennium and Mavis Downs underground projects, with an experienced and reliable partner,” M Mining director and owner, Matt Latimore, said.

“PIMS Group have extensive experience in underground coal mining, especially in high productivity bord-and-pillar operations across Queensland and New South Wales. Work will commence immediately on preparation and scheduling for transition from open cut mining to underground mining.”

Mr Latimore said PIMS Group’s partnership and risk sharing approach together with employment of locals was an attractive part of its bid.

“With the majority of the PIMS Group workforce living locally, we’ll be creating new local employment opportunities, with the potential for more jobs as the project ramps up over the next 12 months,” he said.

“PIMS Group shares the same values as M Mining, being focused on making a positive difference for the communities where we operate, through a focus on safety, employment, economic growth and sustainability.”

Richard Mills from PIMS Group said the firm were delighted to partner and support M Mining to successfully develop and extract the underground coal resource at the Millennium and Mavis Downs Mine.

“We strongly believe in the fundamentals of the project,” Mr Mills said.

The Millennium and Mavis Downs mines will feature a mix of open cut, high wall and underground mining methods used for the extraction of high-quality metallurgical coal.

The project will have a total production of 13.9 million tonnes of metallurgical coal during its lifespan - which is 22 years including rehabilitation.