Leighton Contractors Strengthens Coal Handling And Processing Service

25 November 2009

BRISBANE

Leighton Contractors strengthens coal handling and processing service by partnering with DRA Pacific

Leighton Mining, part of Leighton Contractors' Resources Division, has teamed up with DRA Pacific Pty Ltd , adding significant weight to their suite of coal-related services in the areas of materials handling and minerals processing.

DRA Pacific is part of the worldwide DRA Group which has multi-disciplinary engineering companies situated in each continent, specialising in mining, mineral processing, plant design, construction, and plant operations. Together Leighton Mining and DRA Pacific will partner in offering design, construction, operation and maintenance of coal handling and processing plants in Australia.

Steven Keyser, General Manager of Leighton Mining said the combined strengths of Leighton Mining and DRA Pacific will provide the two companies with a competitive edge in pursuing coal processing opportunities.

"This partnership reflects both companies' commitment to provide industry-leading services in project development, infrastructure, mining and processing solutions to the coal industry. DRA Pacific's process engineering expertise combined with our construction, mining, operation and maintenance capabilities will be able to provide our Australian clients with a total-mine-solution.

"The agreement is based on a partnership approach, whereby we will look at projects and work together to provide the client with a superior service offering. Over the years a number of clients have looked to Leighton Mining as an alternative to other suppliers. After the appropriate due diligence, spending time to search for the right design and delivery partner we have found a strong, sustainable and strategic fit in DRA Pacific. It's very much a case of the sum of the parts being stronger than the individual offerings," Mr Keyser said.

"The combined skills of Leighton Mining and DRA Pacific mean that a multi-disciplinary approach can be taken. For the client this means expert planning combined with expert processing and delivery to maximise value," he said.

Donald Holley, Managing Director DRA Pacific said that DRA recognised in order for them to successfully implement a coal project in Australia they needed to align themselves with a company that has a very strong track record of project implementation in this country.

"Leighton Contractors has the strong track record we need. For us they were a good fit as DRA has a long history of cooperation with the Leighton group," Mr Holley said.

The DRA Group has successfully designed, constructed and operated mineral processing plants including Coal on most continents around the world for the past 25 years. From their office in Perth they have, over the last ten years, designed and constructed a number of mineral processing plants in Australia. Three years ago the decision was taken to establish an office in Brisbane to target the Australian coal market. A number of key DRA coal specialists were relocated to Brisbane from our South African branch, to assist in setting up the office.

"We see this venture, bringing together the combined strengths of two successful companies, harnessing the extensive coal processing experience of DRA with Leighton's enviable track record of project implementation. This joint venture will give the local market a healthy alternative to consider for
future projects," Mr Holley said.

For the Resources Division of Leighton Contractors, of which Leighton Mining is part the partnership with DRA Pacific strengthens its whole-of-mine offering. Leighton Mining will work with other divisions of Leighton Contractors including Construction and Industrial to offer total service delivery as a mining solution.

"Contract mining has evolved in leaps and bounds over the last decade, moving into a space that sees us as service providers partnering with clients from the feasibility and planning stage through to the processing and delivery stages," Mr Keyser said. "The potential from this partnership is significant for both partners, our clients and the industry."

For further information please contact:
Shannon Kliendienst,
National Communications Manager,
Resources Division
T: +618-9389-4898;
M: 0429-613-962

Donald Holley,
Managing Director DRA Pacific
T: +617-3236-4157;
M: 0430-313-004

About Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd
Leighton Contractors is one of Australia's leading construction, mining, infrastructure, industrial engineering, facilities management, services and telecommunications groups with over $9 billion work in hand, employing more than 9,000 people across Australia and New Zealand.

About DRA Pacific

DRA Pacific is an associate of the international DRA Group of companies, which has operating offices in Africa, Australia, China, Canada, Kazakhstan and London and has built a range of mineral treatment plants on different parts of the globe, stretching from diamonds in Greenland, Gold in Africa, Base Metals in Southern Africa, to Coal in Indonesia. In particular DRA has a proud record of building and operating modular and large scale coal handling and processing plants.

DRA Pacific has offices in Brisbane and Perth from where it has been involved in feasibility studies, upgrades and de-bottlenecking of coal plants and building of Manganese, Chrome, Diamond, and recently, Lithium and Tantalite plants in Australia.

SOURCE: Leighton Contractors