According to Mining News Pro - Rio Tinto’s Amrun Chith export facility team, McConnell Dowell, Bechtel and Jacobs, have won a Queensland Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) Earth Award for their civil construction.

The $75 million Chith export facility has secured the highest value category in the Earth Awards. It features a new 650-metre long access jetty and 350-metre long loading wharf.

The facility complements the project’s key infrastructure including the Amrun power station, accommodation village and Arraw dam near Weipa in Far North Queensland.

The team’s combined innovation has reduced the high risk of being over water and in working at heights, decreasing overall build time by 12 months.

Rio said, “Our approach was to bring together all partners involved in the project and develop a method for building the wharf that would provide maximum safety for our people, have minimum impact on the environment, and leave a lasting legacy for our host communities.

“It reduced the time our people had to spend working at height and over water by 300,000 hours.”

The facility was designed by Jacobs, constructed by McConnell Dowell and its constructibility was overseen by Rio Tinto’s engineering, procurement and construction management, Bechtel.

In July this year, Amrun was also recognised for its world-class engineering project and commitment to Aboriginal employment at the 2018 Queensland Mining Awards.

Out of Rio’s $2.6 billion investment in the bauxite development, the company has awarded $1.5 billion worth of contracts to Queensland suppliers, $244 million of which was invested with local Cape York companies.

The company said the construction of its process facilities, rail mounted machines, Amrun mine centre and Torro tailings storage facility continue to make solid progress.

Rio plans to commence first production and shipping before the end of the year, ramping up to an estimated full production rate of 22.8 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) by the end of 2019.