WHAT WE DO
From the first scoping study to handover, run by engineers who have delivered the work themselves.
Mine infrastructure projects fail in the gaps: between the study and the design, between the design and the contractor, between the site and the regulator. IMEC’s project consultancy and management closes those gaps with engineers who have delivered the work themselves, from the first scoping study to handover.
Studies, scoping and estimates
- Feasibility and concept studies. Facility layouts, concept sizing and options for the infrastructure a mine needs: workshops, fuel bays, wash bays, administration and change houses, services routing. For Liontown’s Kathleen Valley, IMEC developed and optimised the overall non-process infrastructure layout, sized the facilities, routed the mechanical services and wrote the scope documents for every package. Kathleen Valley NPI
- Detailed design with capital cost estimates, so a study becomes a fundable number. For Bardoc’s surface and underground gold mines IMEC delivered the detailed design and capital cost estimates for all non-process infrastructure. Bardoc NPI
- Whole-site infrastructure packages. At the new Cassini nickel mine south of Kambalda, IMEC designed all non-process infrastructure: site layout, fuel storage and distribution, offices, change-out buildings, workshops, washdown bays, laydown yards, service corridors, traffic and lighting plans, sewage and oil-water management. Cassini NPI
Approvals and regulators
IMEC prepares and manages submissions to regulators: DMIRS engagement and project submissions in Western Australia, and Mining Inspectorate approvals elsewhere, such as the equipment submission for the ventilation shaft upgrade in Indonesia. Safety in design and risk assessment run through every stage.
Procurement and construction
- Procurement and contract management: specifications, tender packages, technical evaluation and vendor liaison, including specialist suppliers when the duty is unusual.
- Construction management on site. IMEC engineers manage construction for what we design, as at Silver Lake’s Deflector pump station, and provide on-site engineering support for contractor-led works such as MATSA’s surface-to-underground refuelling system in Spain.
- Remote support when site access is impossible. During the pandemic IMEC planned and directed a high-voltage cable installation in West Africa from its Irish office through live camera capture and video conferencing.
- Commissioning, closure and handover, with as-built documentation.
How we run a project
Resource planning and scheduling, budget planning and cost control, stakeholder engagement, quality assurance under IMEC’s ISO 9001 certified quality management system, progress monitoring and reporting through IMEC’s own in-house project management software, and a project closure that leaves the site with the records it needs.
Clients include owners and contractors at gold, nickel, lithium, copper and zinc operations in Australia, Europe and Asia. As the Projects Manager at Boliden’s Tara Mines put it after engaging IMEC on pumping, backfilling, ventilation and workshop projects: “They have proven their capabilities and experience repeatedly.”
Start with a conversation: contact IMEC.
