Aiming For Excellence

The resources and energy markets are going through their biggest transition in 40 years, with professional service providers such as global project delivery company WorleyParsons serving an industry that is far leaner and fitter than it ever was. As a company that focuses on finding solutions to meet the world’s changing resources and energy needs, WorleyParsons RSA is streamlining its operations to adapt and innovate in an ever-evolving world.

Through establishing Centres of Excellence worldwide, WorleyParsons has centralised its expertise in industry-specific locations in order to accomplish customer objectives of making their businesses more efficient, enhancing tools and capabilities, and achieving performance targets. Having managed more deep-level shaft projects in the world than any other company, WorleyParsons’s South African operation was established as its global Centre of Excellence for mining and mineral processing.

“We understand the need for agility and developing solutions to new challenges, particularly in the mining sector,” says Denver Dreyer, CEO of WorleyParsons RSA. “Our experts have a thorough understanding of the total mining business value chain so we are able to take a multidisciplinary approach, with teams comprised of experts from across the mining and mineral processing, pyrometallurgy or light metals project lifecycle, to identify challenges early and produce tailored strategies that mitigate risks. We understand the outcomes that our customers want to achieve and position our value chains accordingly,” says Dreyer. “We are also in a unique position to be able to offer front-end technical specialist consulting and high-end advisory consulting through Advisian, a WorleyParsons global business that provides management and strategic advisory services coupled with technical consulting and deep-domain expertise to address our customers’ business and asset challenges.”

For example StepWise, a low-cost financial and technical process model developed by Advisian, enables emerging miners, as well as tier 1 companies, to evaluate a resource and identify risks upfront. “In a world of constrained capital, companies seek maximum return on investment, and the unique StepWise process very quickly and cost-effectively identifies whether or not an orebody or any other type of resource project will be viable or feasible,” says Dreyer.

While technology in the mining sector has remained relatively static over the past few decades, WorleyParsons has been cultivating a culture of innovation. Locally the company has been integrating latest developments in design and computing to create innovative tools that improve efficiencies and reduce risk in mining projects. The company began developing its integrated design project platform over six years ago, by integrating 3D intelligent design data mapping with over 20 different engineering design processes and programmes to create a visual 5D design scope that incorporates schedule and cost. The 5D integrated project design platform presents miners with the ability to look pre-emptively forward and create a scenario plan for their project, and engage in the right discussions with prospective shareholders.

WorleyParsons RSA’s integrated solutions from strategy to operations for the mining sector include:

• Exploration and evaluation: Extensive experience in gathering, analysing and interpreting geological data from various orebodies, including both greenfield and brownfield sites.
• Mine planning: Utilising the latest mine-planning and simulation software, WorleyParsons can identify ideal production profiles, mine work plans and development schedules to optimise project economics.
• Mining and mine development: From the initial phases of conceptual determination of mineable potential within a geological resource through all of the study phases to the development, design and construction of mining infrastructure as well as operation, optimisation and troubleshooting of existing operations.
• Materials handling: Identifying optimised materials-handling processes, from mine to market.
• Mineral processing: Extensive experience across all facets of the mineral-processing sector covering base metals, precious metals, iron ore, rare earths, phosphates, alumina and mineral sands.
• Tailings and waste management: Significant tailing storage facilities design and management experience from a variety of mineral processing applications.
• Hydrometallurgy: From the initial phases of conceptual flowsheet development, testing, design and construction, to complex plant commissioning, operation, optimisation and troubleshooting.
• Pyrometallurgy: WorleyParsons’s specialists have designed and delivered many of the world’s most complex pyrometallurgy facilities, with particular expertise in calcining, roasting, smelting, refining, gas cleaning and acid plants.
• Transport to market: WorleyParsons’s integrated capabilities (road, rail, shipping, barging, intermodal transport and slurry pipelines) consider all appropriate means of transportation to implement the best solution.
• Environment and approvals: Through its EcoNomics initiative, WorleyParsons ensures sustainability issues are identified and delivered right throughout all project phases in a cost-effective manner.
• Non-process infrastructure: WorleyParsons understands the unique logistical challenges of remote and isolated mining projects and delivers tailored solutions for non-process infrastructure needs.

Over the past 10 years, WorleyParsons RSA has been involved in some of the biggest mining projects in southern Africa – mainly as the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor – including Impala 20 and 17 Shafts, Wesizwe’s Bakubung Platinum Mine and Royal Bafokeng Platinum’s Styldrift mine, Konkola Deep project in Zambia and the Kibali gold mine project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s north-east. The company’s flagship project is the De Beers Venetia Underground Project, the largest-ever project award received by WorleyParsons RSA, which will see the underground mine through to completion in 2022.

Further afield, WorleyParsons RSA is involved in various mining projects in Oman, Canada, South America, Asia, Australia and Papua New Guinea, mainly in the pre-execution phase from the concept stage through to detailed engineering, supporting the global WorleyParsons operations in those regions.