Earlier this week the engineering services group was welcomed back to the Martabe gold-silver project in Indonesia, with new owners China Sci-Tech Holdings quickly getting to work after buying the closed project from OZ Minerals in a deal finalised last month.

Kinsevere is a 60,000 tonne per annum solvent extraction electrowinning copper project north of Lubumbashi.

The $US380 million ($A475 million) project was suspended late last year to preserve cash as the copper price plummeted. Anvil said it required additional funding of about $A200 million to finish the stage 2 works.

Engineering on the stage 2 expansion was about 80% complete and most of the major procurement contracts had been let.

However, the recent pick-up in the copper price, which is wavering around the $US5000/t level on the London Metal Exchange, has sparked a flurry of activity at Kinsevere.

In March, Anvil recommissioned the heavy media separation plant and said, subject to ongoing favourable copper prices, it would also explore the option of resuming open pit mining at Kinsevere to supplement plant feed into 2010.

Ausenco chief executive officer Zimi Meka said the reappointment to Kinsevere allowed Ausenco to finish what it started and indicated the increasing confidence currently surrounding the base metals sector.

“The project was suspended in a controlled way and Anvil and Ausenco are working together to ensure that completion of the engineering takes advantage of our cooperation to date,” Meka said.

Anvil said it was in discussions with other contractors regarding completion of the outstanding stage 2 works, which is expected to take two to three months and then another 12 months to complete construction, dry commissioning and hydraulic testing for readiness to receive ore.

Shares in Anvil gained A24c or 16% in morning trade to $1.74. The news also boosted investor confidence in Ausenco, with shares up 4c to $3.85.