Fosterville BIOX Tank Installation
- Client: Agnico Eagle
- Date: 2025
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Project Overview and Scope
The existing Knelson concentrator unit at Newmont’s Tanami site had become outdated and was no longer supported by the OEM. This created ongoing maintenance challenges, difficulty sourcing spare parts and an increased risk of production loss.
Newmont’s sustaining capital team planned to replace the existing CD30 unit with a new QS30 Knelson concentrator supplied by Consep. To reduce process disruption during changeover works and improve safety, the new unit was proposed to be installed in a new location.
The new location also allowed the project to address maintenance and manual handling issues associated with the existing installation. By lowering the new unit by one level, the design aimed to improve clearance for bowl lifting, reduce manual handling risk and provide better access from surrounding levels.
EMtek was engaged to provide site investigations and multidisciplinary SMP and E&I engineering design for the installation of the new QS30 Knelson concentrator, covering:
- Site inspection, survey and 3D laser scanning
- Concept design and location confirmation
- Structural, mechanical and piping design
- Electrical and instrumentation design
- Existing services relocation review
- Maintenance access and monorail design
- Construction scope definition
- Cost estimating and execution planning
Services and Outcome
EMtek delivered concept and detailed design support for the installation of the new QS30 Knelson concentrator, including site investigation, 3D laser scanning, design development, execution planning and multidisciplinary engineering across SMP and E&I disciplines.
Key services included:
- Site inspection, survey and 3D laser scanning
- Review of vendor data and existing drawings
- 3D Navisworks model development
- 30% design review to confirm the new unit location
- Mechanical, piping, structural, electrical and instrumentation design
- Updated piping routes, tie-ins and hydraulic calculations
- Monorail design to improve maintenance access and bowl handling
- Structural modifications, bracing and support design
- Electrical DB/MCC design, cable routing, I/O schedules and PLC programming
- Lighting study, instrumentation lists and electrical equipment lists
- Safety in Design review, execution planning, cost estimate and schedule development
The completed design package provided Newmont with a practical pathway to replace the unsupported CD30 concentrator with a new QS30 unit, while improving maintainability, reducing manual handling risks and defining the works required for installation, service relocation and commissioning.
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