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Integrated team for the George Fisher project
The George Fisher project is being conducted by an integrated team
of Mt Isa Mines (MIM) and Bateman Brown & Root (BB&R) personnel.
Although this is for MIM a novel approach to project delivery, it is
effectively a traditional EPCM contract with BB&R supplying engineering,
procurement and construction management services under contract from
within the team.
The Brisbane project office is now well established. The MIM and BB&R
project personnel have blended well into the project delivery team,
with project management, project services and some engineering roles
being filled by MIM personnel. The specialist consultants have also
been integrated into the team and are working on common project systems
in the project office. A fully integrated computer network with e-mail
access links the project and site offices with MIM’s Mt Isa and
Brisbane head offices.
The project will enable MIM Holdings Ltd to develop the George Fisher
zinc-lead- silver ore, located 22 km north of Mt Isa, Australia. The
work comprises the development of a new underground mine, modification
of a concentrator and upgrading a smelter.
The George Fisher ore, mined at a rate of 2,5M t/yr , will be hauled
south viaa 2 km drive to an underground loading station at the existing
Hilton mine, from where it will be raised to surface via an upgraded
shaft system. Within the integrated team, BB&R is responsible for
EPCM associated with the mechanical and electrical plant underground
and MIM is responsible for the development of the mine systems. The
economic reserves of the Hilton lead-zinc ore body will be mined out
by 2001.
On surface the ore will be trucked to the existing lead-zinc concentrator
which will be modified to accept the new ore type and grades. Because
thelead and zinc in the George Fisher ore is more finely disseminated,
fine grind ISA Mills (patented by MIM) will be included in the concentrator
upgrade. The concentrator will produce 200 000 t/yr of zinc concentrate,
which will be railed to Townsville for smelting overseas, and 150 000
of lead-silver concentrate which will be smelted in the existing smelter
at Mt Isa.
Because of its age the smelter, consisting of an existing sinter plant,
blast furnace and bag house, will require a major upgrade. This is scheduled
during 24 day shutdown in June 1999.
The project will be completed in two phases. Phase 1, scheduled for
completion by August 2000, should see the mine producing about 2M t/yr .
The cost of this phase will be Aus$230M, of which $120M is for the mine,
$60M for the concentrator and $50M for the smelter. Phase 2 will ramp
up production to 2,5M t/yr .
The project services contract for phase 1 was awarded to BB&R on
the back of a study to upgrade the concentrator, which was completed
in 1997 by Bateman Kinhill, followed by the project definition and preliminary
engineering phases in the first quarter of 1998, also awarded to Bateman
Kinhill on a negotiated basis. With this historical involvement, efficient
project delivery systems and the offer of a strong project team, which
had just completed the successful Gunpowder Copper project, BB&R
won the contract for phase 1 against strong competition from several
internationally known contractors.
To: Kindly contact Tony Cau, BATEMAN General Manager Copper and Zinc,
on +61-7-3320-3333 or
email basemetals@batemanengineering.com,
for more information.
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