• Ausenco Limited
• Website: www.ausenco.com

Industry:

Construction & Engineering

Fiscal Year-End:

Dec 09

AAX's services span the life cycle of 'mine to port' assets, including early-stage feasibility and design services; implementation services such as engineering, procurement and construction management; and established asset services such as commissioning, operation and maintenance. Work scope encompasses the design and delivery of minerals processing plants as well as slurry pipeline systems, environmental and geotechnical expertise, and ports and bulk materials handling systems engineering.

AAX was founded in 1991 and listed on the ASX in 2006. Up until 2008, AAX's main activity was the provision of mineral-processing services. In 2008, AAX made three strategic acquisitions including PSI, Sandwell and Vector. These acquisitions expanded AAX's service capabilities to include the design and delivery of slurry pipeline systems; environmental and geotechnical expertise; and ports and bulk materials handling systems engineering. The acquisitions also expanded AAX's geographic coverage.

AAX's operations center on the design and development of processing methods to clean, separate and prepare metals, coal, and non-metallic minerals from ore extracted either from underground or open pit mines. AAX also provides supporting infrastructure services to facilitate transfer, storage, recycling or delivery of processed material and byproducts. Main industries of operations include mining, transportation (through port and bulk materials handling activities), as well as the energy sector.

AAX has a niche service skill in the design and engineering of mineral processing plants. AAX also has complementary service capabilities in the design and engineering of supporting infrastructure needs, upstream and downstream of the processing plant. These combined service capabilities provide AAX leverage to win and to deliver 'mine to port' mineral processing projects. We also note barriers to entry are quite high.

The client base within the Ausenco Minerals business, which provides mineral processing services, predominantly includes mid-tier and junior miners. AAX is targeting to build relationships with major mining houses in this division over time. That said, AAX's three acquired businesses, PSI, Sandwell and Vector, have established work track records with major mining and heavy industrial houses. Key competitors include Aker Solutions, AMEC (largely through GRD), Bateman, Fluor, Lycopodium and Hatch.