SMS was forced to take a back seat in March due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and hand over construction of Mt Peake's mine site beneficiation and titanium pigment plants and the Tivan processing plant and associated infrastructure.
SMS will provide technical support from Germany, along with TNG's pigment plant technology provider Ti-Cons.
Clough previously worked at Mt Peake in 2021 to produce an integrated layout for the operation when the Tivan plant was first relocated to the site.
Under the terms of a signed heads of agreement, Clough will prepare a binding fixed-price, lump sum EPC proposal for the project, subject to completion of any works required and the procurement contracting model.
Clough is still working on sourcing market-based quotes to determine the EPC price, a job made harder by the disruption of supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic and higher energy costs caused by the Ukraine-Russia war.
Long lead times have also blown out along with equipment and construction costs, with logistical delays and higher labour costs due to workforce shortages sending the costs of steel and concrete skyrocketing.
TNG managing director and CEO Paul Burton said Clough had a strong track record in delivering large projects such as Mount Peake and TNG looked forward to working closely with it as it developed its EPC proposal.
"We now have the support of three leading groups for the project in Clough, SMS Group and Ti-Cons, as we progress Mount Peake through the pre-development stage ahead of planned transition into delivery," he said.
Clough CEO and managing director Peter Bennett said combining its 103-years of experience in delivering critical assets with TNG's world first processing technology would create a nationally significant project.
On site at Mt Peake, TNG is progressing work streams such as groundwater modelling and ground-based activities for the environmental impact assessment.
It is also in negotiations with the Central Land Council on an Indigenous Land Use Agreement.
