The contractor has been providing sustaining capital and engineering services at Lihir since December 2012 and a new extension has now been granted through to the end of 2016.

The addition comes alongside a number of other international wins, including a 22-month contract to provide engineering services for one of the world’s largest copper mines in Chile.

Ausenco has also won detailed engineering for all leach facilities at Minera Centinela’s Encuentro Oxides copper project.

The scope of work includes the permeability systems, solution irrigation and collection systems, stacking and removal of minerals and the associated solution transportation pipelines.

Elsewhere, Ausenco secured preferred engineering, procurement and construction management status on two other big projects in South America.

It also expanded services at Vale’s Moatize coal project in Mozambique to include asset optimisation, value engineering and operations and maintenance support.

The services are aimed at improving the mine’s performance and increasing the rate and reliability of feed from the mine to the coal handling preparation plant.

“Our growth is coming from our diversified full service offering, our reputation for innovation and the strong relationships we’ve built with our clients,” Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said.

“Many of our first quarter wins are from repeat clients who recognise first-hand our ability to deliver value on every assignment.

“Consistent with our previous statements, the bulk of our new project wins and potential client enquiries to date are coming from copper and gold projects in the Americas and asset optimisation opportunities globally.”

Ausenco said its preferred contractor and current work on hand stood at $147 million, a $42 million increase since February.

The company’s stock was up 40% to 31.5c this morning.