In 2008 Ausenco was contracted to provide a program of work which delivered support to the Compass Resources’ Browns Oxide plant.
Ausenco support was provided during the construction and process plant commissioning phases. The Browns Oxide Copper Project which primarily produces copper and is also active in cobalt, nickel and silver is located near the town of Bachelor in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Construction Support
From midway in the project the client required additional expertise to ensure the project achieved its construction targets. Ausenco provided key electrical and instrumentation supervisors who on behalf of Compass were the point of contact for the various sub-contracting parties. Ausenco’s team was incorporated into the construction group to ensure the project construction completion was achieved in the minimum time.
Commissioning
Ausenco’s commissioning team was assembled to bring into production the process plant and associated auxiliary facilities. The key plant areas include:
- milling
- acid leach at elevated temperature
- CCD thickening
- SX-EW
- resin-in-pulp
- elution circuit and nickel cobalt precipitation.
Key auxiliary facilities consisted of lime storage, sulphuric acid storage facilities and a steam boiler.
The commissioning activities provided include the following phases and responsibilities:
- preparation of a commissioning plan
- vendor liaison and management
- management of various sub-contracting parties
- installation and design verification checks
- no-load, or water testing, of the equipment
- functional testing of the circuits
- handover to the Owners’ project representatives.