International engineering company Amec Minproc president Malcolm Brown says that there is an increased focus on Australia’s sizeable, untapped iron-ore deposits, which, he believes, are a significant growth area for the mining industry.

Brown explains that, while most of the current iron-ore mines are haematite depos- its, a significant amount of the ore still undeveloped is magnetite, which needs to be processed to a form suitable for steel mills. Amec Minproc is increasingly undertaking study and project work for companies that are looking to exploit the magnetite iron-ore deposits.

Further, Amec Minproc was awarded all the construction management work for the Karara magnetite iron-ore project, in Western Australia, late last year. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between iron-ore producer Gindalbie Metals and China’s second-biggest steelmaker, Ansteel, with the aim of building a ten-million-ton-a-year iron-ore producer.

Amec Minproc is responsible for the processing plant construction management and its contract is currently being extended to include all the construction management for the offsite infrastructure. Brown estimates that the contract will continue for the next 12 to 18 months. He says that there is currently a team of 25 people on site, but this number should grow to more than 50 people at peak construction.

He notes that there is also significant growth in uranium mining. He explains that, since the state government in Western Australia lifted the long-term ban on uranium mining and processing two years ago, there have been a number of potential uranium mines and these are to be examined in feasibility studies.

Coal seam gas, or coal-bed methane, from the Queensland coal deposits, is another growth area for the industry, he says. Methane gas is extracted from the coalfields and converted into liquefied natural gas.

He says that this is a new industry in Australia and a number of international companies are examining potential pro- jects. The total development costs of these projects is expected to exceed A$10-billion over the next few years.

He believes that there is significant potential for growth in the coal gas methane industry over the next decade and that, as Amec has experience in the oil and gas and coal-bed methane industries, these developments will provide significant opportunities for the company.

Asian Gold Projects
Amec Minproc’s Brisbane office is currently responsible for all the engineer- ing and procurement for Australian miner Pan Australia’s (PanAust’s) Ban Houayxai gold/silver project, in Laos, in South-East Asia. Ban Houayxai is owned by PanAust’s 90%-held subsidiary in Laos, Phu Bia Mining.

PanAust’s completed feasibility study was based on an openpit mining operation feeding ore to a conventional four-million-ton-a-year carbon-in-leach process plant to produce over 100 000 oz/y of gold and 700 000 oz/y of silver. The project is targeted to start ore commissioning in the December quarter in 2011.

Brown says that, given the location of the project, Amec has had to adjust its designs to accommodate locally available materials and construction/installation expertise. However, Amec’s extensive experience in international project development work provides an advantage for the owner, he says. He believes that the opportunity will further highlight the capability of the company to undertake projects in South-East Asia.

The Brisbane office is also responsible for the engineering and procurement for ASX-listed gold explorer Kentor Gold’s Andash gold/copper project, in the Kyrgyz Republic, in central Asia. Amec completed the feasibility study for the project last year and has been awarded the engineering and procure- ment contract, which is currently underway. The expected project duration is 12 to 18 months.

Production is planned at a rate of 60 000 oz/y of gold and 6 800 t/y of copper in concentrate for an initial six-and-a- half-year life-of-mine.

Brown says that, although the tech- nical aspects of the project are relatively straightforward, the location adds a level of complexity in terms of language, cul- ture, the availability of materials and design approvals. He explains that, before construction can start on a project in the Kyrgyz Republic, designs must be approved by design institutes in the country.

Johannesburg Ramp-Up
Meanwhile, the company’s Johannesburg office is actively ramping up personnel numbers as the workload improves, says Amec Minproc Africa MD Colin Kubank.

“However, South Africa still has a significant shortage of experienced engineering and project management personnel, which is only going to become worse as the global economy picks up,” he says.

Amec Minproc Africa is taking the opportunity to fully implement its key personnel, project management and engineering systems so that it is well positioned to take on the additional workload expected to materialise in 2011, says Kubank.

Amec acquired GRD Minproc last year to form Amec Minproc. As a result, the Johannesburg office, as well as the Australian offices, has been under- going an integration process in terms of the migration of Amec systems and procedures.

“Establishing the office with the same platforms used by other Amec offices around the world allows it to effectively share work with those other offices,” he says. If capacity is inadequate in Johannesburg, packages of work can be completed elsewhere, such as Canada, Australia or one of Amec’s high-value engineering centres in Malaysia or Indonesia.

Alternatively, during a lull period, the local office could receive overflow work from an international office. He says that this approach affords Amec the opportunity to use its engineering skills more efficiently throughout the organisation and to smooth workload peaks and troughs.

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