Nickel Rim South
Xstrata Nickel
|
Canada
|
2003–2010
1.25 million tpa
Under budget
and on schedule
5.7 million
work-hours with 0 LTIs
C$925 million
(Phase 1 and 2)
Challenges
- Nickel Rim South was a C$925-million exploration project on the northeast edge of the Sudbury basin
- Develop surface infrastructure, a ventilation and secondary access shaft sunk to 1,685 m, and a production shaft sunk to 1,750 m
- Include underground infrastructure, 11 km of lateral-mine access drifts and 105 km of diamond-drilling to improve ore-body geometry, mineral grades, and tonnage
Solutions
- Completed prefeasibility and feasibility studies and were awarded the engineering, procurement, project and construction management, and commissioning phases of the project
- Developed the mine for a 1.25 Mtpa production rate. Designed to accommodate ore and waste extraction rates of up to 1.3 Mtpa
- A 75-person team managed five design groups with up to 15 contracting firms on site simultaneously
- Site preparation, services and development of electrical systems completed in 2004; shaft sinking completed in 2007; lateral development and underground construction completed in 2010
Highlights
- The Nickel Rim South project established a new technology benchmark for all future mines. It deployed the latest advances in controls and communications, including comprehensive Wi-Fi for surface and underground phone, data, asset, and personnel tracking
- It was completed on schedule, under budget, and with a world-class safety record, reaching 5.7 million hours lost-time incident free in 2009
”The project has been an outstanding success with a world-class safety record, below budget costs and outstanding schedule performance.”
Project numbers
1.3 Mtpa waste extraction rate1,685 m secondary access shaft sunk
1,750 m production shaft sunk
11 km of lateral-mine access drift
105 km of diamond drilling
Services & technologies provided