Metal Information Center

Bateman Engineering secures $408M contract in Zambia

January 5, 2007 – 10:36 am

Bateman Engineering said Monday that the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts with Equinox Minerals Limited for the $408 million Lumwana Project in Zambia has now become effective.

The Lumwana Project is one of the largest copper projects to be undertaken on the African continent. The final Notice To Proceed has been received from the client, indicating that all conditions precedent have been met, project finance has been raised and work can commence on the full project.

As previously announced on Oct. 17, 2006, this project is to be executed through a joint venture with Ausenco Limited (the “ABJV”) and is to be split approximately equally between Bateman Engineering and Ausenco. Project completion is expected by June 2008.

Since January 2006, Bateman Engineering and Ausenco have completed more than one-third of the front end engineering and design for the Lumwana Project on a reimbursable Engineering, Procurement and Contract Management (EPCM) basis. Similarly, orders for a majority of the major equipment items have been placed and bulk earthworks will soon be finished. Following the receipt of the Notice To Proceed the contract will convert from EPCM to EPC, and the advance work performed will enable Bateman Engineering to achieve rapid progress and a relatively high percentage of completion early on.

This new order brings the total amount of new orders for the six month period ending Dec. 31, 2006 to approximately US$500 million. This is 185% up from the US$175 million in new orders for the same period in the previous year, and significantly above the US$308 million secured in the entire previous financial year ending June 2006.

This very strong momentum in new orders is a reflection of the continued buoyant market in which Bateman Engineering is operating as well as the success Bateman Engineering is realizing in its strategic initiatives. Major new orders were secured in Zambia (copper), South Africa (coal handling) and India (zinc), increasing the company’s sector diversification and geographic diversification. This is also a reflection of the increasingly important role Bateman Engineering is playing in the global resource sector.

Bateman Engineering expects to meet or exceed market expectations for the current financial year ending June 2007.

Bateman Engineering will announce its results for the first half on Mar. 9 2007.

Sivi Gounden, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Lumwana copper contract underscores Bateman Engineering’s central role in the development of mining resources in Central Africa and in particular in the Copperbelt. This project is one of the biggest copper developments currently under way, and should provide Bateman Engineering with an excellent reference site for further work in the copper industry.

“We are pleased to be working again with Ausenco, with whom we executed the award-winning Sepon Copper-Gold Project in Laos in 2005, and are pleased that this project can now proceed in earnest. The overall success in securing new orders gives us confidence in the long term continued growth of the business”