Cuts will be made at Arrium Mining’s Iron Knob and South Middleback Ranges mine sites to reflect a reduction in work volumes triggered by market challenges in the iron ore industry.

BGC Contacting CEO Greg Heylen said the adjusted production plan could be met with day shifts only.

“This change, including the new shift roster, reduced scope of operations and implications on workforce size were communicated to all staff, in writing, a week ago – and we will continue to keep our people informed,” he added.

“This is an unfortunate outcome of the current market, and not a decision that was taken lightly.”

Heylen said he hoped to be able to re-evaluate the mines’ requirements and re-hire employees once the iron ore market improved.

In the meantime, he said BGC Contracting’s Employee Assistance Program would be available to all affected employees and their families.

The iron ore spot price fell 0.6% this morning to $US51.76 per tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin.

In other news, BGC also just formed a joint venture with South Africa-based, global and multidisciplinary engineering firm DRA to boost its mining project delivery capacities.

The DRA BGC joint venture aims to combine both partners’ skills and experiences to be a one-stop-shop for mining solutions, spanning services such as procurement, engineering and design, management, construction, operations and maintenance. 

The JV will have a combined global workforce of 6000 employees with experience ranging from selective gold operations to bulk mining of iron ore.