Covalent Lithium has contracted Macmahon subsidiary Decmil for a major road upgrade at its Mount Holland lithium project in Western Australia.
Works undertaken as part of the $123 million contract include upgrading the logistics link between the Great Eastern Highway and Covalent’s Mount Holland site, with around 113km of road upgrades to take place.
Decmil originally commenced work at Mount Holland in August 2023 with around $59 million of works already being completed in the 2023–24 financial year.
Work under the full contract award is expected to directly create 220 jobs at its peak and be completed by April 2025.
“Decmil is off to a strong start in converting our $11.6 billion tender pipeline having now secured approximately $240 million of new work since Macmahon acquired the business in August 2024,” Macmahon chief executive officer and managing director Michael Finnegan said.
“The contract award at the Mount Holland lithium project is the team’s second major road upgrade project since joining Macmahon, demonstrating Decmil’s strong credentials in this area, and I look forward to the successful delivery of the project for Covalent.”
As Covalent’s flagship project, the complete operation comprises the Mount Holland mine and concentrator, and the nearby Kwinana refinery. Covalent is targeting an output of more than 380,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate each year.
The refinery is expected to receive up to 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year from Mount Holland, an amount which has the potential to power around one million electric vehicles.
At the current proposed production rate, Mount Holland is anticipating a 50 year mine life, with Covalent actively looking for opportunities to grow the mine.