After several years of an unprecedented boom in commodity prices, the mining, minerals, and metals industries are experiencing a significant contraction driven by falling demand and lower prices. As a result, project and engineering organizations are experiencing cutbacks and downsizing. Nevertheless, a sizable amount of capital investment continues to be spent in sustaining and stay-in-business projects.
During the last several years, IPA has analyzed more than 500 projects in the mining, minerals, and metals industries from around the world. Our database contains coal, iron ore, bauxite, gold, diamond, nickel, and copper mines (open pit and underground); residue disposal projects; tailings dams; crushers; refining projects; smelters; blast furnaces; casting facilities; and metal finishing processes, including grinding ball lines, galvanizing lines, tin plants, and other finished metal products. Also included in the database are environmentally driven projects related to meeting national and local air and water regulatory requirements.
IPA can assess the level of FEL for processing plant and infrastructure projects. In addition, in 2005, IPA unveiled a new tool to assess mine projects. This tool can be used to evaluate the level of definition of a mine development at the pre-feasibility and feasibility stages.
Through these analyses and research, we have quantitatively identified the key drivers of project success for megaprojects, expansion projects, and stay-in-business projects in the mining, minerals, and metal processing facilities industries. We have also identified Best Practices for mine, plant, and infrastructure projects. Our database allows us to make comparisons with your project across key project success metrics, including safety, cost, schedule, the startup duration, and operational performance and to identify risk areas. In the end, this analysis will increase your project’s chances for success.