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Thiess has been awarded a three-year mining services contract by Austral Resources at its Anthill copper project near Mount Isa in Queensland.

The contract will see Thiess operate and maintain two mining fleets, while also being responsible for mining services to support Austral’s production requirements.

Thiess chief executive officer and executive chairman Michael Wright said he is looking forward to the company making a return to the Mount Isa region.

“Thiess has a long history operating in the Mount Isa region dating back to the early 1960s, and we’re very pleased to be back,” he said.

“With our selection as preferred contractor, Austral Resources has recognised our team’s specialist mining capability and our flexible approach to meet the needs of their mine.”

Wright said Thiess has the capability to maximise Anthill’s output.

“This project is very important to Thiess as we continue to diversify our business across commodities, mining regions and services,” he said.

“We are positioned well to support Austral Resources and the local community, with the right equipment, technical capability and operations team.”

Located approximately 80 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa, the Anthill copper mine sits within Austral’s Lady Annie project.

Austral is aiming to commence mining at Anthill in the final quarter of 2021 with ore deliveries forecast in the first quarter of 2022.

By mid-2022, Austral intends to be producing 1000 tonnes of copper cathode per month as part of a larger goal to produce 40,000 tonnes of copper cathode over a four-year period.

Austral is currently raising $30 million through an initial public offering expected to close on October 13.

In August, Thiess was awarded a four-and-a-half-year contract extension by MACH Energy at the Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales, seeing the mining services contractor continue work at the site into 2026.