With the entire project completed under the auspices of the PA+PO ISO9001 Quality Assurance program, the commissioning plan for the plant system was undertaken during the conceptual design phase and refined as the project moved through its various stages of construction up to pretest and test running. A third-party commissioning engineer was hired to complete a checkout of the plant following the process and instrumentation diagram certified for construction by the electrical and automation personnel.
The organized commissioning of the entire plant allowed for an on-time completion and startup, with plant optimization occurring in only three days of test operation, during which all theoretical outputs and throughputs were achieved, and all contractual requirements met. Such an industrial approach to the concrete plant commissioning is an approach that mine management encouraged and PA+PO required of the entire team. Punch listed items were completed on a three-level basis (safety, operational and aesthetic), each completed systematically.
Onsite fabrication and true turnkey design-build is shown to work well on projects such as the Barrick Cortez Hills multipurpose backfill plant, where fast track completion of customized designs is required. The start-to-finish project was completed on time and was reported to have exceeded the owner’s requirements and expectations. The plant will provide the backfill material to allow multi-level underground extraction of ore on a rapid basis, and the shotcrete and concrete produced will supply the underground construction needs as well as surface construction of ongoing and upcoming mill and site improvements.
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