OUR SERVICES:
PROCESS PLANT COMMISSIONING
CHEMECH'S CREDENTIALS
Prior to joining Chemech, Ian held key roles in the successful commissioning of some of the largest gold processing plants in Australia, including Fimiston (1995), Cadia (1998) and Telfer (2004). These projects had the largest milling equipment available at the time, and Ian developed detailed mill commissioning documentation with high levels of quality assurance that minimised start-up risk and led to successful project outcomes.
Building on these early career success stories, Chemech’s commissioning credentials have been further demonstrated with important contributions to Newmont in the commissioning of the world-class Boddington project, as well as their relatively complex brownfields upgrade to Tanami.
Due to their involvement with projects long after commissioning ends, Chemech understands the consequences of poorly planned and executed commissioning, often completed without handover of any meaningful quality assurance documentation. Chemech therefore applies a level of detail and quality assurance to commissioning that is not typically applied by engineering companies but is well appreciated by owners.
Chemech brings commissioning discipline and experience that owners can trust — generating detailed plans and applying rigorous quality assurance to minimise start-up risk and accelerate ramp-up to full production.
OUR EXPERTISE
HOW WE CAN HELP ACHIEVE A SUCCESSFUL COMMISSIONING
Commissioning systemisation documentation. These documents are often produced after the design is complete and by commissioning personnel with no design experience or involvement. Chemech understands that P&IDs and SLDs must be designed for a logical commissioning sequence, and this sequence must be reflected in well thought out systemisation documents.
Commissioning quality assurance documentation. These are often non-specific and inadequate test sheets that have been handed down through the generations in engineering companies. Chemech generate project and equipment specific documents that detail all required tests, their applicable standards, and the owner’s quality assurance/surveillance requirements.
Commissioning plans. These are often voluminous copy-and-paste documents that are general in nature and go largely unread. Chemech produce very specific and detailed plans for each system that describe the commissioning sequence, the required tasks, the task pre-conditions, acceptance criteria, and the required quality documentation.
Ramp-up support. Chemech are highly skilled and experienced in analysing plant data and optimising equipment and process performance. This experience can be extremely valuable in the ramp-up phase, where technical support may be required to rapidly diagnose and resolve performance issues.
Commissioning support. Either on-site commissioning, remote support for specific advice or documentation reviews.
SOME OF OUR COMMISSIONING SUCCESS IN PRACTICE
In 2016, Newmont engaged Chemech to provide commissioning support during the design phase of their Tanami Expansion Project. The project involved a relatively complex upgrade to a 40-year-old plant that had already been upgraded several times, and lacked accurate design documentation in many areas. Due to their design involvement, Chemech were able to modify the design in key areas to optimise the commissioning plan and systemisation. They subsequently generated detailed commissioning procedures for each system describing the commissioning sequence, activities required, their pre-requisites, acceptance test standards, and the applicable quality documentation. Specific and detailed test sheets were also generated to specify Newmont’s acceptance criteria and quality surveillance requirements. Chemech then attended site to assist with critical commissioning activities. As a result of a thorough and thoughtful commissioning plan and procedures, as well as a competent and committed site team, the new milling circuit received first ore only 3 weeks after construction handover. The plant had exceeded its design throughput within weeks of first ore.
In 2016, Chemech were engaged to develop the commissioning plan, sequence, systemisation, procedures, and quality assurance documentation for Newmont's Tanami Expansion Project, which was a relatively significant upgrade to a 40-year-old plant. Due to their design involvement, Chemech were able to generate very logical and well thought out systemisation and sequences allowing commissioning to proceed very quickly and efficiently. Their experience and attention to detail was reflected in the documentation and significantly de-risked the relatively complex brownfields commissioning. They also came to site to assist with critical tasks and their overall contribution helped deliver a highly successful commissioning, with the milling area receiving first ore only 3 weeks after construction handover.
- Abbas Manesh, Commissioning Manager, Newmont Tanami Expansion Project¹
1: This statement reflects the personal views of Abbas Manesh and does not constitute an official endorsement by Newmont Corporation.