The company first entered the deal with Rio Tinto, hosting its staff of about 1,500 fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) personnel in Dapier and Karratha, in 2012; the extension is the result of it exercising an option within that deal.

The village in Karratha, located just 20 minutes from the local airport, was part of a build-own-operate project, Fleetwood said.

No financial details of the extension were disclosed.