Downer EDI Gets A$71.7 Million Contract From BHP Billiton

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE--Engineering firm Downer EDI Ltd. (DOW.AU) Tuesday said it received a contract worth 71.7 million Australian dollars (US$72.6 million) for electrical work on the expansion of BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) Jimblebar iron ore mining operation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Downer in a statement said it would be responsible for work to provide power to a new mine at the operation--including supplying and installing electrical power and control components for two substations, modifications to existing substations and transmission lines, and the installation of a new power line between the town of Newman and the Jimblebar mine.

BHP last year approved spending US$3.4 billion for the development of the Jimblebar mine and rail links as part of a wider expansion of its mining capacity in the Pilbara. The efforts are expected to deliver initial capacity of 35 million metric tons a year, it has said.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]