Services

MINING ENGINEERING

  • Assessment of existing underground mine infrastructure

  • Evaluation of mine expansion requirements and capabilities

  • Evaluation of material handling systems and requirements

A successful mining operation is well planned and maintained to enable the effective and efficient development and production to meet the expected targets for sustained economic viability. The evaluation of the mine infrastructure required to meet all operational and regulatory requirements is an important component of a functioning operation, for both present, and future performance.

 MINE PLAN REVIEWS

  • Evaluation of existing mine plan to assess performance targets

  • Assist with the development of a mine plan to achieve desired outcomes

  • Evaluate the production plan compatibility with mine layout and infrastructure

The mine plan must be prepared to achieve short term and long term goals, as the operation expands to maintain production. Identifying all development requirements well in advance, so that potential new areas can be available when needed, is an important component to the financial plan and for the scheduling of resources and necessary modifications to the mine infrastructure. The mine plan is developed based on new and updated geological information, which must be evaluated as part of the continual mine planning process.

 MINE & PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW

  • Evaluate project performance schedule against planned outcomes

  • Assess mine development methodology to achieve schedule

  • Assist with planning for a new mine development program

The most important plan a successful mine needs, is a realistic mine plan, for both forecasting and evaluation purposes. The setting of production targets, and achieving these targets, depends on how closely the plan relates to actual performances and identifying roadblocks to achieving the plan. It is critical to have a long range plan that is being completed well in advance, so the plan is flexible and changes can be adopted if required. The need to evaluate the methodologies as part of the mine plan, is also critical, as mining will change to reflect the mine conditions or orebody fluctuations.

 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

  • Assist with new project planning to assess requirements for resources and infrastructure

  • Management of project work for operations

  • Look for improvements to the effective management control within a project

  • Inspection of the project site

  • Development of a Project Execution Plan that will identify work specifics and the resources to complete the work.

· Verify the project is functioning efficiently, as planned.

The development of a project execution plan is critical to the success of a project. It is important to understand the project deliverables and provide inputs into a resource guide that will assist in the high-level planning and resource allocations required for the success of the project. Dissecting the work components into a more detailed plan will follow as members of the management group become involved at the various stages of planning. Part of the project success is to review and audit performances and evaluate the need for changes of the methodologies for the work as field conditions change.

 EQUIPMENT EVALUATION

  • Assist with the selection of development or production equipment for mine requirements

  • Evaluate the performance of equipment operation against industry standards

  • Assess the equipment requirements against the operation plan.

The efficiency and productivity of a mining operation, or project, will depend on the equipment being utilized to complete the work. This can be an evaluation of the equipment available, or the equipment that would be best suited for the work, to improve performance. The equipment being considered may not be compatible to the work due to size, functionality, age, etc., and this should be identified to ensure desired performance is achieved.

 MINE OPTIMIZATION

  • Assess existing resources and methods for improvement opportunity.

  • Evaluate operating practices to identify obstacles to performance.

It is important to understand how work is being performed in the mine, or on a mining project. Practices may not be updated as equipment changes, or the mine layout changes, resulting in lost performance opportunities. Monitoring how work is being completed, or if procedures have been updated to reflect the changes that could be incorporated in new processes, is important to capturing these improvements. Training and communicating these opportunities in the workplace is critical to realizing the benefits capital expenditures will provide for improved productivity, or savings.