Higginsville Paste Backfill Project
Award Date
March 2009
Completion Date
October 2009
Project Type
Brownfields, open book alliance contract
Project manager
Phil Pattinson
Process manager
Bill Gosling
Client
Avoca Mining Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avoca Resources Ltd
Location
The project is located approximately 50 km north of Norseman in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia
Scope of work
GR Engineering was awarded a design and construct contract by Avoca to supply a continuous production paste backfill plant for the Higginsville gold mine.
The paste plant is designed to filter and then repulp the existing plant tailings in a controlled fashion with cement and deliver the resulting paste underground, via a dedicated borehole and underground reticulation system. The plant has a designed throughput rate of 123 dry t/h of tailings at a feed density of 65% solids but is also designed to allow up to 160 dry t/h to be handled.
The project works include the installation of a high rate tailings thickener at the existing treatment plant which will improve processing efficiency even when the paste plant is not required to operate.
GR Engineering is using the Solid Edge 3D CAD drafting package to model and design the paste plant which enables a high level of review from all discipline and process engineers to ensure design errors, omissions and clashes were eliminated to the maximum extent prior to fabrication and installation.
Structural, mechanical, piping and electrical installations was completed and managed on site by GR Engineering direct hired personnel. Earthworks and civil installations will be subcontracted to third parties and managed by GR Engineering supervisors.