Tag Archives: mine engineering

Arafura brings KBR into Nolans neodymium-praseodymium project team

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Arafura Resources has appointed KBR as the Project Management Consultant to the integrated project management team (IPMT) at its Nolans neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

A definitive feasibility study on Nolans envisaged a combination of phosphate and rare earth extraction processes to produce an average annual production of 4,357 t of NdPr and 135,808 t of merchant-grade phosphoric acid over an initial mine life of 23 years.

KBR is, according to Arafura, a globally recognised Tier One project management consultancy that has a wealth of knowledge and delivery experience across many complex projects in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, and oil and gas. It recently helped complete the OZ Minerals-owned Carrapateena copper project, in South Australia, performing a similar role in an integrated management team with OZ, the company said.

The scope of work for the IPMT encompasses management of all aspects of the project, according to Arafura, with the KBR team to be integrated with Arafura project personnel to build on the existing project knowledge and supplement it with proven project delivery solutions and systems.

As part of the IPMT, KBR has also partnered with Wave International as a sub-consultant. Wave has minerals processing experience including in rare earths and will provide additional engineering depth to the project as well as undertake the engineering design of selected non-process infrastructure, Arafura said.

Arafura Managing Director, Gavin Lockyer, said: “KBR brings a proven track record, systems and global experience to the project which will enhance our existing capabilities. Through their partnership with Wave, which has assisted the Arafura team with the definitive feasibility study and execution readiness activities to date, there will be a continuity of knowledge and momentum, moving into the project delivery activities.”

Wayne Nolan, KBR’s Vice President of Infrastructure Services Australia, said: “KBR is excited for the opportunity to be involved in the Nolans project and looks forward to bringing the project successfully through construction and production. We will bring together our local expertise in the resources sector, and best practice experience from similar programs of works elsewhere in the world to deliver these services.”

GR Engineering to grow Americas footprint with Hanlon Engineering buy

Mineral project development, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , ,

GR Engineering Services has entered into an agreement to acquire Hanlon Engineering & Associates Inc as it looks to grow its existing footprint within the Americas.

Hanlon, based in Arizona, USA, is a multi-disciplinary engineering services firm that provides engineering, procurement and construction management services to the mining sector in North America. It was established in 1999 and employs around 40 people. Hanlon also has a satellite office in Elko, Nevada.

Among the list of mining companies Hanlon has carried out work for is Agnico Eagle Mines, Barrick Gold, BHP, Freeport McMoRan Hecla Mining and Newmont.

GR Engineering’s Managing Director, Geoff Jones, said the acquisition of Hanlon was aligned with GR Engineering’s growth strategy.

“We are pleased to be acquiring the Hanlon business,” Jones said. “Hanlon has a strong local brand with an excellent safety record and longstanding relationships with major mining clients. Hanlon has an experienced management team capable of taking advantage of the numerous growth opportunities that exist in the Americas.”

Based on Hanlon’s current workflow, identified growth prospects and GR Engineering’s existing pipeline of work in the Americas, GR Engineering anticipates the business will immediately contribute to GR Engineering’s revenue and become earnings per share accretive for the company in the financial year ending 30 June 2021.

The acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction of several conditions precedent customary for an agreement of this nature. It is anticipated that the acquisition will be completed by the end of February.

Worley to carry on work at Imperial and Syncrude’s oil sands operations in Canada

Mine operation news, Mining services, , , , ,

Worley has reported that oil sands miners, Imperial Oil Limited and Syncrude Canada Ltd, have extended the ASX-listed firm’s long‐term engineering and procurement services contract for an additional five years.

Building upon the long‐term relationship that began in 1991, Worley will continue to provide Imperial and Syncrude a full range of engineering, procurement and project delivery services for brownfield and greenfield projects in Canada, Worley said.

The services will be executed by Worley’s Canada team, supported by its global business, including Worley’s Global Integrated Delivery office in India.

Andrew Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Worley, said: “We are pleased to continue this long‐term relationship supporting Imperial and Syncrude.”

Both Imperial and Syncrude have major oil sands mining operations in Alberta, Canada.

Ausenco to take First Mining shares for Springpole PFS work

Mineral exploration, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

First Mining Gold and Ausenco Engineering Canada recently entered into an agreement that will see the engineering firm complete a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Springpole gold project, in north-western Ontario, Canada.

As part of the pact, Ausenco has elected to receive shares of First Mining as consideration for its engineering services, First Mining said.

Ausenco has significant experience in the study and execution of projects similar to Springpole, according to First Mining, with substantial recent experience in eastern Canada including the feasibility study (FS) and subsequent engineering, procurement and construction execution of the Moose River Consolidated gold project for Atlantic Gold, Marathon Gold’s Valentine Lake PFS and Anaconda Mining’s Goldboro FS.

The Springpole PFS follows on the back of an updated preliminary economic assessment on the project, which outlined a 36,000 t/d mine and mill capable of producing an average of 410,000 oz/y ounces of gold in years 2-9 of the 12-year mine life.

Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining, said the agreement marks a key milestone in the project’s development and “goes hand-in-hand with our focus on de-risking Springpole and advancing the project through the environmental assessment process”.

He added: “Ausenco is one of the strongest partnerships we could have formed for this next step of development, given their proven track record, not just in delivering rigorous technical studies, but also in project delivery, construction and operations. Ausenco becoming a shareholder of First Mining demonstrates the strong belief by one of the premier mining-focused engineering firms in the technical merits and development potential of Springpole.”

Worley to leverage Arundo’s AI capabilities for EPC work

Automation, IoT, Mining services, Mining software, , , ,

Worley, an EPC energy, chemicals and resources sector leader, and software company, Arundo, have launched The Data Refinery, a hub for applied data science and machine learning solutions.

“The Data Refinery combines Worley’s industry experience with the software and data science expertise of Arundo,” the companies said. Its focus is to bridge the gaps among operations, data science and information technology to help industrial companies transform their businesses through data-driven decisions. “This ultimately helps companies increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve uptime, as well as reduce safety and environmental risks,” they said.

For the past several months, joint teams from Worley and Arundo have used The Data Refinery, located in downtown Houston, Texas, as a space to incubate and develop analytics applications that meet the needs of Worley and its customers.

“There’s never been a more exciting time for the energy and resources market as it moves towards a greater reliance on artificial intelligence and machine learning,” said Bradley Andrews, President, Digital at Worley. “Arundo is at the forefront of data science and machine learning technology, delivering value to companies in 90 days or less. By harnessing our industry and asset experience with their proven technology, The Data Refinery helps companies identify the right problems to solve and gives them the confidence to embed artificial intelligence and machine learning into their operations.”

The first product launched via The Data Refinery is DataSeer, a product that automates the extraction of information from piping and instrumentation diagrams, isometric drawings, and other engineering diagrams.

“Using deep learning and computer vision techniques, DataSeer can recognise all instances of specific instruments, valves, lines, and other features in a diagram in just seconds,” the companies said. This has immediate applications in bid production and project estimation.

In addition, DataSeer can improve digital representations of physical systems, and help industrial companies create relevant, usable digital twins for a variety of advanced analytics and operational applications.

Stuart Morstead, Arundo President & COO, said: “With DataSeer, users are already seeing a reduction in manual processing time of up to 90%. At the same time, accuracy is increasing, enabling significant improvement across a variety of project engineering use cases.

“Worley and Arundo believe this capability can significantly improve core EPC processes, major projects at industrial companies, and the management of engineering diagrams at any company with both legacy and new specifications.”

Concurrent with the launch of the DataSeer application, Worley is also launching DataSeer Managed Service for customers seeking the turnkey digitisation of legacy industrial drawings.

Monadelphous after Chile mining exposure with Buildtek, Maqrent deal

Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Engineering company Monadelphous Group is expanding its South America presence through the acquisition of 75% stakes in Chile-based construction and maintenance services contractor, Buildtek SpA, and plant and equipment hire company, Maqrent SpA.

Buildtek provides multidisciplinary construction and maintenance services to the mining sector in Chile, having facilities in Antofagasta, Rancagua and Calama, and a head office in Santiago. Maqrent provides a range of plant, machinery and equipment for hire to Buildtek and external customers in the mining and construction sectors. Customers include major resources and energy companies such as Codelco, BHP, Albemarle, Anglo American and GNL Quintero. The business achieved an annual turnover in excess of CLP20 billion (A$24.7 million) in the last financial year.

Monadelphous Managing Director, Rob Velletri, said the acquisition formed part of the company’s markets and growth strategy, through the expansion of its existing services into new geographical regions. The announcement was the result of “significant efforts” over a number of years to understand the South American market, he added.

“The acquisition enables our entry into the growing Chilean resources market through an established and well-recognised operator. We will support Buildtek and Maqrent as they continue to grow and expand in the South American market,” he said.

Monadelphous is paying CLP5 billion in cash to acquire 75% of the companies, with an option to purchase the remaining 25% in three years’ time. The companies were founded in 2007 by Victor Valech and employ around 700 people. Valech will continue to manage and run the operations in Chile, with support from Monadelphous.

Wood creates new technical consulting solutions business

Mining people, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , ,

Wood has announced the creation of a new Technical Consulting Solutions (TCS) business unit that, it says, combines “its diverse, multi-sector and technology-enabled specialist advisory and consulting capabilities into one global business”.

TCS immediately becomes a leader in the technical consulting space with an annual revenue of $2.8 billion and a connected global network of over 15,000 experts and innovators, according to Wood. The new business unit will be led by Joe Sczurko (pictured) who assumes the role of TCS CEO.

“The new business unit has been created to bring together the expertise and provide the agility to respond to the changes and trends shaping the world and Wood’s customers: global energy security and transition, accelerating digital technology, and the growing demand for sustainable infrastructure and environmental resiliency,” Wood said.

Robin Watson, Chief Executive of Wood, said TCS has a compelling blend of capabilities across projects, operations and consulting services that are “highly relevant” for customers working in the energy and built environment markets.

“By combining the world-class consultancy solutions that TCS offers with the ingenuity and collective expertise that we have across our business, we will continue to anticipate and respond to the challenges that our customers face across the life cycle of their projects,” he said.

The new consultancy business is formed from the former Specialist Technical Solutions and Environment & Infrastructure Solutions business units. It combines leading positions and a global customer base across renewables, infrastructure design, environmental planning and remediation, upstream and downstream oil and gas, manufacturing, mining, and a range of governmental agencies.

Sczurko said: “The combined capabilities and resources within this new business are unmatched among our competitors. TCS has a unique ability to leverage leading positions across a broad service range and global footprint allowing us to build and blend teams from every part of Wood, tailor the right expertise and create the right solutions in response to customers’ individual needs.

“We can help customers effectively plan their projects, optimise their capital expenditures, address environmental concerns, improve the productivity of their day-to-day operations, and preserve value in their property, plants, and equipment. Remaining customer-centric throughout the asset life cycle, we focus on achieving their objectives with industry-leading technical experts in each phase of the life cycle: plan, engineer, build, operate, and re-purpose.”

Sczurko has spent over 30 years in consulting engineering and previously served as Executive President of Strategy & Development at Wood.

Black & Veach to manage refinery build for PT Borneo Alumina in Indonesia

Base metals, Industrial minerals, Mine operation news, Mining services, , , , , ,

PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia has appointed a Black & Veatch-led project management consortium (PMC) to develop an alumina refinery in West Kalimantan.

The facility, the first of its kind in Indonesia, according to Black & Veatch, will feature a 1 Mt/y smelter-grade alumina refinery, a 2 x 40,000 cu.m/h coal gasification plant and a 3 x 25 MW coal-fired power plant.

As the consortium leader, Black & Veatch will perform design review, equipment inspections, and provide power and coal gasification subject matter expertise. Consortium partner Progesys will be managing the alumina refinery process design scope, while another partner, Jaya CM, will be supporting the project with site construction engineers and inspectors.

Progesys is a minerals industry engineering company based in Canada, while Jaya CM is an Indonesia-based construction management company.

“As the project consultant, the consortium is responsible for evaluating engineering, procurement and construction bids and reviewing design engineering,” Black & Veatch said. The consortium will monitor major equipment supply and conduct factory acceptance tests. It will also oversee site construction and commissioning.

Jim Spenceley, Senior Vice President, Mining, Black & Veatch, said developing the downstream mineral processing industry will expand the Indonesia economy and create jobs. “Black & Veatch is ready to leverage our global expertise across business units to support as PMC overseeing our client’s Chinese engineering, procurement and construction contractor to ensure that the client realises the quality, safety and value they are seeking.”

Black & Veatch’s knowledge of international and country-specific engineering codes and standards, and contract structures systematically mitigates project cost and schedule risks, according to the company. “By serving as the interface between different engineering standards, Black & Veatch offers clients assurance that EPC contractors deliver on specific project commitments cost effectively.”

JLR buys Ontario-based brownfield mining specialist

Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , ,

JL Richards & Associates (JLR) says it has acquired Timmins, Ontario-based engineering firm Porcupine Engineering Services, bolstering its service offering to clients in the mining, industrial, forestry, and energy sectors in northern Ontario and beyond.

PES is a multidisciplinary engineering firm with specialised expertise in brownfield mining, according to JLR. “Founded in 2004 by partners Mario Colantonio, Frank O’Donnell, and Brian Emblin, PES has a proven reputation in northern Ontario for high quality design and project management,” the company said, adding that Colantonio, O’Donnell, Emblin and the existing PES team will be integrated into JLR’s established Industrial & Mining Group.

“With the combined capabilities of this newly expanded team, JLR will have an unprecedented capacity to provide bespoke solutions to meet the unique needs of its industrial and mining clients,” JLR said.

Guy Cormier, JLR President and CEO, said the deal represented a significant business development and technical growth opportunity for the team. “Where once stood two competitors now stands a stronger, more dynamic, and unified front. The entire JLR team is incredibly excited about the new opportunities that this partnership will bring.”

JLR has previously worked with the likes of Goldcorp (now Newmont Goldcorp) and Vale (a picture of the 2013 Overflow Engineering contract in Sudbury, pictured here) on mining projects in northern Ontario.

Noront, Hatch and Algoma Steel sign Ring of Fire pact

Base metals, Industrial minerals, Mineral project development, Mining finance, Mining policy, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Noront Resources has announced agreements with Algoma Steel and Hatch to facilitate development of the Ring of Fire mineral district and the associated Ontario-based processing facilities, in the north of the Canadian province.

“Noront is partnering with two Ontario-based industrial and engineering giants to advance Ring of Fire development,” said Alan Coutts, President and CEO of Noront Resources. “This is truly a ‘made in Ontario’ collaboration on one of the most economically and socially important projects our province has seen.”

The agreement with Algoma provides Noront with a five-year, renewable option to lease a brownfield property in Sault Ste. Marie for a period of 99 years. Noront plans to design, construct and operate a ferrochrome production facility which will service the company’s Ring of Fire chromite deposits. This agreement provides Noront and Algoma with an opportunity to re-purpose an existing brownfield location with a view to sharing infrastructure, the exploration company said.

Michael McQuade, CEO Algoma Steel, said his company  viewed the Noront project as a valuable business partnership  and an exciting opportunity for Sault Ste. Marie.

“Our discussions have uncovered numerous economic synergies through the shared use of assets and services, and we look forward to exploring these options further with Noront, the City and the many stakeholder groups who may be engaged in this project,” he said.

In addition, Hatch will perform engineering and project support services for the Eagle’s Nest and Ring of Fire chrome projects as part of a Master Services Agreement, Noront said.

Eagle’s Nest is a nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit, while Noront also has chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor, and Big Daddy, all of which are located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario.

As part of this collaboration, Hatch will participate as an equity partner with Noront, and form an integrated project management and engineering team to manage development and execution of projects in the Ring of Fire.

Joe Lombard, Hatch’s Global Managing Director of Metals, said: “The Ring of Fire represents a significant opportunity, not only for Noront and Algoma, but also for northern Ontario and local First Nations. We’re excited to be a part of these transformative projects and committed to partnering with Noront to develop innovative solutions that will bring long-term prosperity to the region.”

Today’s agreements mark another step toward a larger goal established by Noront to develop the Ring of Fire in true partnership with local First Nations, contractors, suppliers and the communities of northern Ontario, it said.

Noront previously signed agreements with Marten Falls First Nation and Aroland First Nation, which made both communities Noront shareholders, established ongoing working and communications protocols and created a dialogue regarding mutually beneficial economic development opportunities.

In consideration for entering the term sheet, Noront will issue Algoma 750,000 common shares and 750,000 warrants to purchase common shares, subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.