Aker Kvaerner strikes gold

and partner Clough Murray & Roberts (CMR) has been awarded a contract for the expansion of the

Project, located 130 kilometres southeast of Perth, Western Australia.

The contract value is AUD 111 million (£46,199,556), of which Aker Kvaerner's scope is about 60 per cent. The award follows the successful completion of the pre-engineering contract of AUD 4 million (£1,664,266).

The work is expected to be completed late 2008 and includes engineering design, procurement and construction management (EPCM).

The previous, largely oxide operation is being expanded to treat primary ore at a rate of approximately 35 million tonnes of ore per annum producing around 850,000 ounces of gold and 200,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per annum.

The joint venture is a collaborative effort between CMR, and Aker Kvaerner operations in Melbourne, Australia, and Santiago, Chile. Aker Kvaerner in Chile will perform the bulk of the detailed engineering for the process plant area.

Boddington is said to represent one of the world's largest undeveloped gold projects. The project owner, Boddington Gold Mine Management Company, is a joint venture between Newmont Mining Corporation and AngloGold Ashanti Limited.