Montana Exploradora (Goldcorp), Marlin Gold Project, Guatemala:  Construction level design of large tailings/water dam.  Construction management and QA/QC for Phase 1 & 2 construction contracts totaling over $US 7 million.  Characterized groundwater system, created a tailings leachate containment groundwater model, developed site groundwater supply well.

Magellan Minerals Ltd., Coringa Project, Novo Progresso Brazil:  Completed a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Coringa Project, a Greenfield gold deposit, estimating a measured and indicated resource of 269,000 troy ounces Au and an inferred resource of 98,000 troy ounces Au.  A NI 43-101 compliant preliminary economic assessment was also completed for the project indicating a robust internal rate of return of 34%.

Tahoe Resources Inc, Mina Escobal, San Rafael de las Flores, Guatemala:  Currently executing a site-wide hydrogeologic characterization to determine the following:  underground mine dewatering requirements, mine water supply, and the potential impact of dry stack tailings leachate.  Results to be included in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Dry Filter and Thickened Tailings Storage Facility Design, Anglo Ferrous Brazil, Minas Gerias, Brazil:  Options study for storage of 2.5 billon tonnes of iron ore tailings, including multiple tailings facilities (thickened tailings and dry stack), preliminary design of a large water storage reservoir, and development of site water balance. Preferred options were then advance in a separate prefeasibility study.

Coal Mining Reserve Estimation and Property Comparison (Confidential Client), Mongolia:  Developed comparative mine plans for adjacent properties.  Determined logical pit shell based on geologic model and calculated reserves based on logical pit sequence and appropriate factors including dilution, recovery, and washing yield.

Shell Canada, Jackpine Oil Sands Mine, Alberta, Canada:  Contract in-house engineer providing on-site support for mine technical services.  Projects include short-term mine planning, internal Business Plan development, 1-year mine plan, and many small projects to support operations.

El Águila Gold Project, Oaxaca, Mexico

Santa Elena Project, Sonora Mexico:  Wrote a detailed closure plan of the Santa Elena mine including an engineering cost estimate of the earthworks, revegetation, and environmental legacy requirements. The results were integrated in the Feasibility Study and submitted to regulators. 

 

 

GOLD/SILVER/COPPER

 

Los Filos Gold Mine, Guerrero, Mexico:  Environmental and hydrologic site assessment of large operating gold mine property.  Worked with site personnel to develop surface water management and sediment/erosion control plan.

BHP Copper, San Manuel Mine, Arizona:  Field investigations and heap leach reclamation design.

 

Pascua-Lama Project, Chile-Argentina:  Feasibility design for one of the world’s largest gold tailings facilities.

 

Various  Projects: Performed unsaturated flow modeling of heap leach pads to optimize metals recovery.  Used variably-saturated modeling to determined the effectiveness of flow rate cycling to increase metals recovery in fine-grained ore. Discovered that many in heap leach pads, mines can vary solution application rates to increase metals recovery with minimal capital costs.

 

San Cristobal Mine / Water Supply, Nor Lipez Province, Bolivia:  Discovered, tested, and modeled a groundwater resource of up to 7,000 gallons per minute for a proposed silver/lead/zinc mine in the high elevation desert of Bolivia.

SilverCrest Mines Inc., Sonora Mexico:  Completed multiple feasibility-level studies for an open pit gold mining operation including geochemical characterization, groundwater characterization, surface water management, environmental management, and pit slope stability.  Additional work for this project included the discovery of an abundant groundwater supply in this arid region.  

San Bartolome Silver Mining Project, Bolivia:  Pre-feasibility and bankable feasibility designs for tailings and heap leach facilities.

 

Due Diligence Audit of Historic Mine Sites (Confidential Client), Ontario, Canada:  Evaluation of fifteen properties in the Timmins Mining District to determine if closure plans met current standards for reclamation and closure of inactive tailings and mine workings.  Developed conceptual designs and cost estimations for establishing bond requirements.

 

Santa Elena Project, Sonora, Mexico:  Conducted a feasibility-study level geotechnical analysis of a proposed 2,500 tonne per day Open Pit / Heap Leach gold and silver mine. Additional tasks included developing and implementing oriented core drilling program and geotechnical design of the open pit. 

La Guitarra Gold Project, Mexico, Mexico:  Feasibility design of dry filter tailings and heap leach facilities.

 

BASE METALS

 

Confidential Client, New Caledonia:  Bankable feasibility design of seven dams for a large nickel mine.

 

Doe Run Company, Sweetwater Mine, Missouri:  Closure plan for decommissioning of a 6-foot diameter primary decant outlet for a large tailings dam.

  

AGGREGATES & INDUSTRIAL MINERALS

 

Aggregate Industries, Colorado:  Determined resource limits from borehole data.  Developed mine plan based on stripping ratios and geographic constraints.  Prepared construction level grading and reclamation plans detailing finished topography for wetland development.

 

Río Tinto - Kazan Soda Project, Turkey:  Prepared pre-feasibility reports for proposed trona mine.  Designed process/solution cooling ponds.  Developed material and liner system technical specifications. Coordinated liner laboratory testing program.

 

Chemical Lime Company, O’Neal Quarry Calera, Alabama:  Operations management, ore sequencing and quality control, annual budgeting.

 

 

OIL SHALE & TAR SANDS

 

 

  Oil Shale Condemnation Study, Client Confidential, Wyoming:   Compiled database of two oil shale bearing strata and created a basic geologic model.  Created strip ratio map in billions of barrels of oil per cubic yard of waste to confirm wind generator sites were placed outside of economically viable area.

 

Athabasca Oil Sands (Albian Sands), Alberta, Canada:  Developed preliminary mine plan including ore sequencing, dyke sequencing, and in-pit backfilling for oils sands project (Muskeg River MIne).

 

Due Diligence for Oil Sands Project Financing, Alberta, Canada:  Review of mine waste management and geotechnical aspects of proposed oil sands mine on behalf of a major investment bank.

Syncrude Aurora Mine, Alberta, Canada: Developed preliminary mine plan including ore sequencing, dyke sequencing, and in-pit backfilling for large oils sands expansion project.

 

COAL

 

Coal Mining Pre-feasibility Study (Confidential Client), Mongolia:  Mine plan including ore/waste sequencing, equipment fleet evaluation, and engineering economic analysis.

 

BHPBilliton, New Mexico Coal:  Operations management, mine and reclamation design, short term and long term planning, ore sequencing/blending, annual budgeting.  Also participated in 6 sigma operational excellence projects.

 

Due Diligence for Purchase of Several Coal Mine Properties, Jasper, Alabama (Confidential Client):  Audit of several operating and permit-pending coal mine properties for prospective purchase by a foreign steel producer.

 

Ccooal Reserve Calculation, AMSHA, Mexi:  Completed the reserve estimations for several underground mine properties held by AMSHA for mining using longwall mining methods. 

 

Binani Cement Ltd, Coal Resource Estimation, India:  Resource estimation for proposed surface coal mine.

 

Coal Lease Valuation, Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation, Otter Creek, MT:  Completed a valuation of the Otter Creek coal tracts through both the income and comparable sales approaches.

 

International Coal Mining Limited, Asansol, India:  Providing onsite mine planning and training for the mine planning department at the Sarshatali Open Cast Mine.  Mine planning including both long-range 5-year planning as well as detailed monthly and weekly planning by coal bench.  Additional tasks included an audit of mine operations including loading and hauling practices, blasting practices, and mine dewatering to improve overall productivity as well as an updated reserve estimation due to the influences of an active coal fire.

 

Coal Mine Planning/Cost Analysis, Client Confidential, Montana/South Dakota:  Completed several variations of mine plans to compare costs.  Cost analysis included project start-up capital, equipment selection, sustaining capital, operating costs and closure costs.  In addition, completed earthworks calculations and associated costs to determine the reclamation bond.

 

Updated Export Coal Feasibility Study, Cash Minerals, Yukon Territory, Canada:  Completed an update to previous coal feasibility study.  The update included a mine plan to produce both export coal for sale in the Pulverized Coal Injection (PCI) and thermal coal export markets as well as run of mine coal to fuel a 50 MW mine mouth powerplant.

 

Powder River Coal Company, Gillette, Wyoming: Created a fully integrated conceptual and numerical groundwater model to predict the hydrogeologic impact of surface mining on regional aquifers.  The model was submitted to the Wyoming Department of Land Quality to meet environmental regulations and was also used to determine the mine’s impacts to local water rights.