Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today it was awarded a contract by Aura Minerals Inc. (TSX:ORA) to provide a basic engineering package for the expansion of the process plant at its Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine located in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico.

Officials did not disclose the contract value, however noted the services are being provided from Jacobs' offices in Mexico City, Mexico and Toronto, Canada.

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is providing engineering services for the installation of a new fine ore stockpile withdrawal system, an additional primary ball mill, two tank flotation cells and a tailings thickener. The Aranzazu expansion project is expected to increase milling throughput rates from 2,600 tonnes per day to 4,000 tonnes per day by 2015.

Jacobs Group Vice President Andy Kremer stated, "We are delighted to be working with Aura Minerals on this important phase in their expansion of Aranzazu's plant capacity. We look forward to supporting their project goals by drawing upon our wide-ranging experience in base and precious metal expansion projects."

Aura Minerals is a Canadian mid-tier gold and copper production company focused on the exploration, development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas. The Aranzazu mine consists of both open-pit and underground mine operations and an upgraded mill that which produces a copper-gold-silver concentrate using conventional flotation. In addition to the Aranzazu project, Aura Minerals' portfolio includes the San Andres gold mine in Honduras, the Sao Francisco and Sao Vicente gold mines in Brazil, and the copper-gold-iron Serrote da Laje project in Brazil that Aura Minerals anticipates production start-up by mid-2015.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2012 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

Source: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.