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Western Mediterranean Zinc Spa (WMZ), an Algerian-Australian joint venture, has signed a $336 million Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with Sinosteel Equipment & Engineering Co. (Sinosteel MECC) to develop the Tala Hamza Zinc Project in Bejaia Province, Algeria.
WMX is a joint venture between ASX-listed Terramin (49 percent) and Algerian state-owned companies Enterprise Nationale des Produits Miniers Non-Ferreux et des Substances Utiles Spa (ENOF), which owns 48.5 percent and Office National de Recherche Géologique et Minière (ORGM) owning 2.5 percent.
The EPC contract covers the construction of a 2.0 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) underground zinc mine and processing plant, backfill facilities, a dry stack tailing storage facility, water ponds and wastewater treatment plant, as well as road and electrical supply installations within the mining area, general civil works and security fencing, Terrramin said in a stock exchange statement on Monday.
The statement said the funding arrangements for the EPC contract have also been agreed and formalised for the next 18 months, and it is anticipated that construction will commence in the coming weeks.
“For the nation of Algeria, this will become an historical event by positioning themselves with a world class mining project, which will boost their economy and showcase the use of high global mining standards for this long-term mining operation,” Terramin’s Executive Chair, Bruce Sheng said.
The Algerian mining regulator issued the mining permit for Tala Hamza in May 2023. Terramin stated on its website that the project has the potential to rank among the world’s top ten zinc producers, with a resource estimate of 53 million tonnes (Measured, Indicated, and Inferred) grading at 5.3 percent zinc and 1.3 percent lead, based on a cut-off grade of 2.5 percent zinc equivalent, including probable reserves.
Last week, Algerian Arabic language news portal Elkhabar and other outlets had reported that the the project is slated for completion by July 2026. The news portal said the project targets production of 170,000 tonnes of zinc and 30,000 tonnes of lead and it would achieve turnover of at least $215 million, including net profits of nearly $60 million, a year after it is commissioned.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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