In Sun Engineering (Qld) Pty Ltd v Ravenswood Gold Pty Ltd [2024] QSC 68, the Supreme Court of Queensland examined a dispute over the entitlement to retain and recourse to a bank guarantee under a construction contract related to the Ravenswood Gold Mine expansion project. Sun Engineering provided construction services integral to the mining operation, which included the expansion of the mine's processing capacity. The core dispute revolved around Ravenswood Gold's refusal to return the bank guarantee, claiming it had overpaid Sun Engineering and thus, had a rightful claim to the overpaid amount. The court found that the construction work performed was indeed integral to the mining operation and fell within the "construction work in mining" exemption, meaning the contractual provisions for the bank guarantee did not contravene the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld). Consequently, the court determined Ravenswood had the right to retain the guarantee until the claimed overpayment was resolved, emphasizing that the construction contract did not qualify as a "building contract" under the Act due to the specific nature of the work being directly related to mining, thereby excluding it from certain statutory provisions intended for building contracts.
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