GLOBAL LEADER IN
THE MINING INDUSTRY
Mine waste engineering
Total mine water management solutions
Environmental and social consultation
Resource infrastructure
MINE SERVICES
AUSTRALASIA
Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd. (KCB) is an international engineering, geoscience and environmental consulting firm with its head office in Vancouver and nine offices in strategic locations in Australia, Canada, Peru and Brazil. We have a strong reputation for quality service and technical expertise in a range of services including: Mining, Environmental, Water, Power, Transportation, and Oil and Gas. Since forming in 1951, we have a long history of participation in local projects, as well as a strong international reputation. We are working on some of the largest, most challenging engineering projects, both nationally and internationally.
ABOUT US
AUSTRALASIAN GROUP
Antamina Mines (Peru) AngloGold Ashanti (Australia)
Barrick Gold (multiple sites) BHP Billiton (multiple sites) BHP Billiton Iron Ore BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (Australia) Bluestone Tin (Australia) Department of Natural Resources and Mining (Australia)
Emperor Gold (PNG) Evolution Mining (Australia) First Quantum Minerals (multiple sites)
Fortescue Metals Group (Australia)
Freeport McMoRan (multiple sites)
Gindalbie Metals (Australia) Glencore
Hidden Valley Mine JV (PNG) Iluka Resources (Australia) Independence Group (Australia) Millennium Minerals Ltd (Australia) Nautilus Minerals (PNG) Northern Minerals Ltd (Australia)
Newcrest Mining (multiple sites)
Ok Tedi Mining (PNG) Oyu Tolgoi LLC (Mongolia) Panoramic Resources (Australia)
Perylia (Australia)
Sagittarius Mines (Tampakan Project - Philippines) Rio Tinto (multiple sites) Teck (multiple sites) Vale (multiple sites) Woodlark Mining Ltd. (PNG)
Our clients include:
KCB Registrations
Quality
ISO 9001
Health & Safety
OHSAS 18001
Environment
ISO 14001
Our Australasian operation services a wide variety of mining clients within Australia
and across the Pacific Rim. We are based in two offices, Brisbane and Perth, which
operate under an integrated management
system consisting of quality, health and
safety and environmental procedures. A large proportion of our work is conducted in geographically remote and often logistically
challenging environments, domestically and
internationally. We have a strong record of project delivery under extreme conditions from the wet humid tropics of equatorial Asia to arid remote mining areas within Australia. We pride ourselves on being a high-end technically strong consultancy with mature service delivery practices including
inter-office and inter-group project collaboration.
This latter element of our business is particularly advantageous as it permits us to
efficiently provide more specialised services (such as mechanical, electrical and structural engineering) from other offices to our local
clients.
Key services established from our
Australasian operations are based around three core technical streams.
Geosciences
(includes: hydrogeology,geochemistry and geology). Through this group we specialise in whole of site water and water quality management
solutions, and have advanced capability and experience in modelling, mitigation design and field implementation of testing programs
and system commissioning. Key aspects of water management undertaken by the geoscience group include water supply
development, mine dewatering, project
water balance simulations (operational and post-closure) and water disposal.
Engineering
services focus on geotechnical and civil services for mining environments. We have a particularly strong reputation for complex and large-scale tailings and wasterock design, often coupled with sediment
and water diversion structure designs for severe rainfall events or for areas with annual rainfall measured by the meter. Our engineering experience extends beyond
design and includes construction, QA / QC and third party review roles; and, integrated
water management solutions through our geosciences group.
Our
Environmental
services are distributed across baseline and impact environmentalsciences, and operational support through project development and maturation,
strengthened with consultation and community engagement experience.
Regulatory reporting, document submission
and application support form part of our experience.
Although our operations are based around
three core technical streams, the value-add
that we provide is the ability to incorporate and understand each technical stream during project delivery. Many of our projects
are generally multi-disciplinary, and often
Chris Langton, General Manager,
Australasia,
has over 25 years of groundwater and environmental projectexperience in the mining, industrial and
commercial infrastructure sectors.
Chris Dickinson, Principal, Senior
Consultant,
has over 20 years ofexperience as a geologist, with almost
20 years as a consulting hydrogeologist
working in Australia, Asia, the Pacific and
Canada.
Chris Strachotta, Manager Strategy
and Growth,
has over 17 years ofexperience in the field of geosciences in Australia, South America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
Brent Usher, Manager Geosciences,
has over 18 years of international
experience in the field of aqueous
geochemistry and hydrogeology for the mining sector.
Steve Flynn, Manager Engineering,
has over 20 years of international geotechnical engineering experience for the mining and construction industries.
Matthew Ind, Senior Civil Engineer,
has over 17 years of experience in managing and leading mine and civil design projects in Australia and overseas.Excellence, teamwork, and innovation
building a better world
OUR VISION
To attract, develop, and retain
talented staff and quality clients who
thrive on challenging projects
OUR MISSION
OUR VALUES
• People First
• Health & Safety
• Sustainability
• A respectful, satisfying and
fun workplace
• Professionalism
• Quality
• Innovation
• Technical Excellence
TEAM LEADERS
Dam Design
Geotechnical design of tailings and water
dams. Designs incorporate seismicity, seepage control, stability, natural hazards, and water management.
Waste Rock Dumps
Geotechnical and environmental design
of waste rock dumps. Water balance,
water management and hydraulic structure design associated with dams waste dumps and open pits.
Construction
Focus on building projects that work for the client and the community. Provision
of QA / QC services, construction supervision / monitoring and cost
control.
Mine Operations
Integration of international best
practices following ANCOLD, ICOLD and World Bank / IFC guidelines. Preparation
of Operation Maintenance and Surveillance Manuals and Emergency Preparedness Plans.
Surface Water Management Design
Hydraulic and hydrological assessment and modelling of project sites including
dam break assessments and flood
mapping. Design and implementation of site-wide surface water management
plans capturing diversion, drainage, and
attenuation. Development of
project-specific erosion and sediment control
strategies to industry best practice.
Tailings Technologies
Designs to improve water management and reduce project footprints using
dewatered, paste and thickened
tailings. Alternative technologies using
co-disposal with waste rock, cells to limit evaporation losses, cycloning and
thickening of select tailings streams and combinations of conventional tailings storage and new technologies.
Closure
Design for long-term sustainable closure
of dams, tailings impoundments and
waste dumps.
Risk and Benefit Assessment
Risk assessment and risk management plans for mine waste and water facilities.
Benefits assessment to balance and
mitigate potential risks.
Services
MINE WASTE ENGINEERING
Hidden Valley Mine, Papua New Guinea
Over a 15 year period KCB has undertaken numerous work scopes at this open pit gold mine spanning concept to detailed design and construction monitoring for waste rock
dumps and PNG’s first large scale TSF which comprises two large earth-fill
dams.
Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea
KCB has been working at Ok Tedi Mine since the mid 1980s with scopes ranging from detailed design and construction supervision of the Ok Menga hydro-electric power plant to the detailed design and construction supervision of the dredged sand stockpiles and pyrite concentrate pits at Bige. KCB has also carried out numerous studies for potential TSF sites and is currently undertaking scopes related to mine closure. KCB is retained by OTML to provide periodic site inspections and audits of the Bige site.
Tampakan Project, Philippines
KCB has undertaken feasibility investigations and designs for waste storage facilities and appurtenant structures for the proposed Tampakan copper mine in Mindanao. Facilities included a 1.4 Bt capacity TSF using
centerline construction methods, a
2 Bt stable waste rock dump and a freshwater dam upstream of the TSF to manage the 55 km2 catchment.
Waisoi Copper Project, Fiji
KCB undertook an integrated water and waste management prefeasibility study. This comprised of geotechnical and hydrogeological site investigations for proposed mine waste disposal options including co-disposal.
Porgera Mine, Papua New Guinea
KCB designed the stable waste rock dumps and the Waile Creek fresh water supply dam at the Porgera Mine. KCB also developed the concept for the
eroding waste dumps, and undertook
the investigation and design for the plant site. Several studies were undertaken to assess potential (tailings and waste rock) co-mingling options.
Simberi Mine, Papua New Guinea
Conceptual and detailed designs have been completed for stable waste rock
dumps at the Simberi Gold Mine,
PNG. Designs included geochemical
segregation of waste and seepage, water
management to reduce dump erosion and static and seismic geotechnical stability analyses.
Collingwood Tin Mine, Qld, Australia
KCB undertook the geotechnical and
hydrotechnical designs, and provided
construction supervision for the tailings storage facility at Collingwood mine.
Services
GEOSCIENCES
Geochemistry and Predictive Water
Quality Modelling
Geochemical assessment of mine materials. Predictive water quality modelling for pre-mining environmental
impact assessment, and mine operations
and closure. Prevention of acid rock drainage and metal leaching through
waste and water management strategies,
and integration with engineering design and construction.
Water Balance and Water Management
Optimising water recovery in arid climates
and improving storage, treatment and
release of water in wet climates.
Mine Dewatering & Depressurisation
Design of mine dewatering systems that manage both quantity and quality of mine water. Design of depressurisation systems for pit wall stability.
Water Supply and Regulatory Approvals
Groundwater and surface water supply and storage assessments for project
requirements. Regulatory engagement and technical support for regulatory submission.
Hydraulic Structures
Design and construction of diversion
structures, diversion channels, spillways,
sediment ponds and decant systems. Assessment of “dam break” and “tailings run-out” scenarios to support emergency preparedness planning (EPP).
Environmental Design
Water quality modelling to integrate facility engineering design with limiting environmental factors in the
receiving waters, such as aquatic life or
downstream water use.
Groundwater Modelling
Groundwater modelling to allow predictive simulation of potential
modifications to the hydrogeological
system as a result of project
development, operation, closure and
post-closure. Modelling includes the
predictive simulation of both flow and
water quality characteristics.
Baseline Characterisation
Groundwater and surface water monitoring program development and implementation for the characterisation of baseline conditions relative to
proposed project infrastructure /
footprint and potential receiving environment.
Total Water Management Solutions
Holistic approach to water management
incorporating project usage efficiency; re-use and discharge requirements; and,
GEOSCIENCES
Experience
Nullagine Gold Project, WA, Australia
Design, constructed and implemented
supplementary groundwater supply for the project demand; including resource management and whole of site water accounting.
Browns Range Project, WA, Australia
Whole of site water management including the establishment of
groundwater supply for project demand, pit dewatering assessment, groundwater
impact assessment and post-closure pit void assessment.
Cobre Panama Project, Panama
Whole of site water balance update for the assessment of water supply reliability from surface water sources.
Mount Isa Mine, Qld, Australia
Geochemical and hydrogeological assessment of various waste facility and aquifer systems for the purposes
of operational management, impact assessment, closure requirements and
regulatory approvals.
MacArthur River Mine, NT, Australia
Provision of geochemistry,
hydrogeological and engineering services with respect to the overburden emplacement facility and tailings storage
facility for the purpose of regulatory
review, impact assessment and closure
requirements.
Lihir Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea
Development of a regional scale
hydrogeological model to predict a range
of mine inflows with time, apportioned
by source including potential seawater
ingress and structurally derived flows.
Model was adapted for proposed mining
expansion under different development
scenarios. Dewatering options were developed and consideration of
dewatering effectiveness presented for
consequent depressurisation studies.
Ok Tedi Gold Mine, Papua New
Guinea
Several iterations of numerical modelling of the Ok Tedi Pit with a focuson post mining recovery, development
of pit lake conditions (elevation and
timing), assessment of regional post
mining groundwater conditions and development of input for pit lake water quality assessments. Work included consideration of underground mining impacts on the pit void post closure.
Goro Nickel Project, New Caledonia
Groundwater monitoring reviews, PFS
hydrogeological and hydrological studies
for in pit tailings disposal, PFS level
closure planning for tailings and concept
design investigations (hydrological,
hydrogeological and closure) for proposed tailings management
facilities. Field studies, drill planning
and specialised recommendations and programs to characterise the unique and complex hydrogeological conditions of the site.
Antamina Mine, Peru
Whole of site water balance / water quality model development,
implementation and scenario modelling
to predict water quality and flow predictions across the project site; and,
allow operational management of waste and water facilities.
Tampakan Project, Philippines
Mine waste (rock and tailings)
geochemical characterisation, site-wide
water balance modelling and tailings storage facility seepage assessment.
Services
Baseline Studies
Characterisation of pre-project environmental conditions in the
potential project area of influence.
Coordination of multidisciplinary studies
relating to the physical, biological and
social environment in a diverse range of
environmental settings, covering tropical,
subtropical and arid zone climates.
Conducted for regulatory approval, project financing and corporate governance in both green fields and brown fields project settings. May include the identification of permitting
requirements and strategies.
Stakeholder Consultation, Capacity
Building and Social Management Plans
Facilitating understanding, involvement
and information exchange during all project stages through a variety of
techniques, including the development of social management plans,
communication and consultation plans and social impact assessments. Culturally appropriate materials and tools are devised to improve this process.
Training, skills development and
facilitation of workshops are undertaken with clients and local communities to build their capacity for working in a
manner aligned with corporate social responsibility best practices.
Impact Assessment and Mitigation
Plans
Assessment of potential environmental and social impacts as well as cumulative
effects that would be expected as
a result of the proposed project. This assessment starts with the fundamental environmental and social conditions prevailing in the immediate area of the project and within the surrounding communities and includes
the development of mitigation, enhancement, compensation and
monitoring plans.
Environmental Management Plans
Developed for regulatory permitting and as part of a Company’s Environmental Management System for both the construction and operational phases of projects. Content and structure
are specifically designed to meet the
requirements of the project and usually
include monitoring, emissions control,
impact mitigation and procedures for documentation and reporting. Hazard
identification and risk assessments can
be undertaken during EMP development to understand the pathway from a potential hazard to potential impact
and best design the EMP to mitigate potential impacts and provide a better environmental outcome for the project.
Monitoring and Regulatory Compliance
Reporting
Establishment and installation of environmental and social monitoring
programs during construction, operations and post-closure, including
compliance monitoring and reporting for national regulatory agencies. Monitoring plans designed to follow on from baseline studies and measure levels of impact on the environment resulting from the project.
Closure Planning
Development of integrated conceptual and detailed closure plans and
closure cost estimates, including the
development of closure criteria and incorporating environmental and social
factors into final land use planning,
optimising opportunities and minimising long-term risk.
ENVIRONMENTAL & CONSULTATION
Experience
Hidden Valley Mine Advisory
Committee, Papua New Guinea
KCB was appointed as AC members for a period of four years in 2009.
The AC provided high level review,
recommendations and general advice addressing mine site waste and
environmental management strategies,
general riverine impacts and social issues covering a range of community and government stakeholders.
Ok Tedi Mine SEIA, Papua New Guinea
As part of the 15 year extension
to its current mine plan, KCB was
commissioned to undertake a socio-economic assessment of this proposal. The work was completed following an extensive analysis of unedited community engagement and consultation reports involving 156 separate villages.
Ok Tedi Mine Community Relations,
Papua New Guinea
The Ok Tedi Mine community relations team is responsible for gaining and maintaining the company’s license to operate covering a demographic of over
100,000 people. The team has a current staffing level of 40 with varying levels of qualifications and experience. KCB has
been commissioned to undertake a CR
capacity review, develop a strategic CR management plan and, facilitate training
programs aimed at updating the present skills base.
Tampakan Copper Mine, Philippines
KCB completed a Social Impact Assessment and Community
Consultation Program for a mine access road. Using IFC performance standards we worked closely with local consultants and experts from the local university to complete the project.
Cracow Mine, Qld, Australia
Development and implementation of Receiving Environment Monitoring Program (REMP). Involved site selection for surface water quality
and macroinvertebrate sampling,
development of trigger values and submission to regulator for approval. Quarterly monitoring results are
interpreted against the trigger values,
which are constantly reassessed as more data is generated.
Lihir Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea
Comprehensive mine closure plan update including environmental and socio-economic aspects and cost estimate update.
Services
RESOURCE INFRASTRUCTURE
We integrate engineering, geoscienceand socio-environmental consultation to
study, design, build and close projects
in the mining and energy sectors. Our engineering is supported by
environmental, permitting, social and
consultation teams.
Process, Pipeline and Mechanical
Conceptual through to detail design
of water / slurry pipelines for water supply, reclaim systems, drainage and irrigation. Designs also relate to pump / barge specifications, boilers and steam distribution, industrial heating and
ventilation.
Electrical, Power and Instrumentation
Assessment, design and implementation management of generators, transmission lines, power distribution (and associated load studies), transformers and
switchyards, instrumentation control systems, and excitation and SCADA
systems.
Ports and Transportation
Assessment and design of container
terminals, drydocks, wharves and project
access roads.
Hydroelectric Power Generation
Investigations, design and construction
management of large hydro-electrical projects to smaller run-of-river hydro schemes. Design incorporation of
Kaplan, Bulb and Francis & Pelton turbines and generators. Specific design components include gates, stoplogs, trash racks, turbine valves and hydraulic
control systems.
Bridges, Tunnels and Structures
Bridge designs include pre-fabricated
truss stream crossings to larger cable
stay bridges; and swing and floating
span structures. Design aspects for tunnel infrastructure include hard rock
and cut / cover tunnels; and, associated
retaining walls and rock fall protections. Infrastructure foundation assessments include mill and plant structures; truck
shops; camps; and, auxiliary support
facilities.
Cranes, Lifting Equipment and
Conveyors
Design of loading facilities include bridge, container, hammerhead and level luffing
cranes; ship unloaders; marine loading ramps and drydock equipment.
RESOURCE INFRASTRUCTURE
Experience
Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea
Mechanical and electrical design of
cyclone systems. Retrofit of valve
chambers and capacity upgrade at hydro-electric plant site.
Browns Range Mine, WA, Australia
Design of water supply reticulation
system, including equipment selection, control philosophy, quality estimates and CAPEX / OPEX cost build-ups.
Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project,
Laos
Provided bid design, final design and
construction engineering services for the two main civil works packages for this 1074 MW project.
Antamina Mine Water Pump-back
System, Peru
Designed a new pump-back system to accommodate the low-grade ore stockpile. The surface water management plan comprised a system
of lined ponds, ditches, pump-back
stations and sodium-hydroxide dosing to control the quality of surface water released to the environment.
Vale Inco, Canada
Pre-feasibility study to assess options to improve reliability of the reclaim pumping system that supplies water to the Upper Pond.
Votorantim Metals Goethite Pumping
System, Peru
Design for the replacement of a goethite pumping system at the Votorantim zinc
refinery in Peru. Upgrade of pumps and
