Ravensworth Open Cut mine

Project
Ravensworth North Upgrade
Location
Ravensworth, NSW, Australia
Timeframe
2011-2013
Client
Glencore
Industry Sector
Minerals & Metals
Commodity
Coal
Service Area
Process Plants; Project Delivery
Solutions
Conceptual & Feasibility Studies; EPC/EPCM Contracting

Ravensworth Open Cut mine is located in the NSW Hunter Valley, between Muswellbrook and Singleton. It incorporates the open cut mine and the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant.

Spanning over four years, Glencore involved Ausenco QCC from the outset, with PFS and FS completed in 2009, which progressed to an alliance contract for the EPC delivery of the coal infrastructure. 

Client requirements 

The scope included all disciplines of civil, structural, mechanical, pipework, services, high voltage works, electrical, instrumentation and control. 

Ausenco QCC delivered the design, procurement, construction, commissioning and handover of the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP). 

  • FS and PFS 

  • CHPP Design 

  • EPC/M delivery (Alliance) 

Project solutions & approach 

As part of the project delivery, the project team relocated a 330kV Transgrid transmission line requiring 48 new towers, constructed a new 66/11kV substation, relocated a 66kV Ausgrid transmission line, completed various overhead and underground HV works, delivered all 11kV site wide reticulation and all electrical, instrumentation and control. 

Two new 900 t/h CPP modules were built and integrated with the existing module involving two stage washing using dense medium cyclones and spirals circuits. 

The new raw coal facility married each end into the existing dump station and plant feed silos by incorporating a series of overland and plant conveyors, secondary and tertiary sizing stations, stacker, raw coal stockpile and reclaim tunnel. 

The rejects conveyor system was extended to transport rejects material to a new mine truck load-out bin near the ROM dump station. 

The product coal facility incorporated an extension to the existing tunnel and a new product and reclaim tunnel system, with associated plant conveyors and a stacker. 

Extensive brownfields work was required to upgrade the capacity of all the existing plant conveyors and services. 18 conveyors were upgraded totaling 4.8 km. 

14 new conveyors 9.1 km long were installed with the longest being 2.4 km.A key challenge was working in a predominantly brownfields operating facility, made successful by experienced team that close coordination with operations. 

The raw coal and rejects system, spread over a large geographical area presented logistical issues, whereas the remainder of works within the existing plant was very congested and afforded limited crane access and laydown areas. 

Advanced, detailed planning was the key to successful construction 

Outcomes and achievements 

  • 2,000,000 site hours over 2.5 years with no lost time injury 

  • Design and engineering of two additional 900 t/h coal preparation plant modules 

  • Design and engineering of new raw coal and product coal facilities 

  • Brownfields capacity upgrade of existing infrastructure 

  • Completed in 2013 to the project TCE and four months ahead of schedule 

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