comprehensive services for mining and minerals processing

resourceful. naturally.

comprehensive services for mining and minerals processing operations

2 © Barr Engineering Co. 800.632.BARR www.barr.com

Whether you’re planning to develop a new concept, con-struct a new mining and minerals-processing operation, or modify your existing facility, you need a consulting firm with comprehensive knowledge of mining facilities as well as extensive engineering, environmental, and operations experience in the industry.

For more than 50 years, Barr has been assisting national and international mining and minerals processing clients with complex, large-scale projects. We’ve worked with companies that mine and process coal, iron ore, lead, copper, nickel, precious metals, industrial sands and minerals, and oil from Canada’s oil sands. We offer not only drill-to-mill optimization services, but assistance with everything that comes before and after.

Barr offers clients one source for the technical and regula-tory services needed to take projects from conceptual studies and environmental assessments through facility design and construction, operations, and closure. Integ-rating engineering and environmental expertise yields a streamlined project approach—one that improves efficiency, communication, and understanding of both small project details and the big picture.

This brochure illustrates how our firm can assist you with:

• environmental review and permitting

• mine-water management

• mine planning

• minerals processing

• engineering design

• geotechnical engineering

• natural resources management

environmental review, permitting, and compliance

Barr offers clients a variety of environmental services for new projects, existing operations, and expansions. We provide environmental assistance related to surface water, hydrogeology, air, noise, human health, industrial hygiene and safety, terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecology, green-house gases, and climate change. We assist with:

• environmental review and permitting

• baseline studies

• air emissions testing and inventories

• air dispersion modeling and ambient air monitoring

• groundwater modeling

• regulatory analysis and negotiations

• regulatory compliance, environmental management systems, and ISO 14001 compliance

• multimedia compliance audits

See the last page of this brochure for details about our natural resources services.

right: Natural resources surveys, especially for sensitive species, are an integral part of the siting and permitting process for new and expanding facilities

engineering and environmental expertise

services for mining and minerals-processing operations 3

mine-water management

Water-use management and planning can help solve processing and permitting issues. Whether you want to conserve water on site, eliminate process-water discharges, or collect and use stormwater runoff, Barr can help.

We have more than half a century of experience assisting mining companies with water-related issues, including identifying water sources for mining operations, obtaining water-appropriations and wastewater-discharge permits, and treating wastewater. As requirements for mine de-watering and discharge of process water have become more stringent, we have helped multiple clients improve water management by limiting water use and minimizing the amount of water that requires treatment before it is discharged.

With underground mining, tailings are the most critical on-the-ground waste product to manage. Barr helps clients reduce operational constraints by developing long-term water-management and tailings-storage plans and sequencing methods that factor in site climatic and geographical conditions.

We also assist with seasonal plan development, starting with conducting water balances (including water and water-quality studies) during initial planning for tailings-storage facilities and then determining makeup-water requirements and identifying recycling options.

In addition, we develop water management strategies that help mining clients protect surface waters from the potential effects of acid mine drainage. Options can include separate routing of process (contact) water and stormwater, treatment of process water, and reclamation planning. Modeling hydraulics, hydrology, and water quality on a watershed-wide basis, and incorporating the results into designs for process-water separation, can allow companies to discharge stormwater offsite, free of substances from mining operations.

A major key to obtaining approval to build and operate the new Essar Steel facility was identifying a viable supply of water for process use while keeping stormwater and wastewater from entering nearby water bodies.

Working with an environmental attorney, Barr devised an innova-tive solution. The three-part strategy involved transferring water among existing mine pits and lakes; collecting and storing stormwater runoff on site to use as process water; and keeping new pollution from entering existing waters during construction and operation of the mine and steel plant. Reusing, treating, and recycling water will result in zero liquid discharge to the environment.

Barr assisted GE Water & Process Technologies and PolyMet Mining with the design and operation of a water-treatment pilot plant that uses reverse osmosis technology to reduce sulfate to less than 10 mg/L.


mine planning

Productivity and profitability are your goals, but international competition, new processes, and stricter environ-mental regulations are making those goals harder to reach. Barr can help you gain a competitive edge by conducting initial studies of ore bodies, performing mine planning, and developing mine and processing facilities, including systems for transporting mined material and disposing of tailings. Our planning and development services include:

• market studies

• project evaluation and due diligence

• design and management of exploration drilling programs

• reserve and resource modeling (with software such as Carlson, MineSight, and Vulcan)

• slope stability evaluations

• pit optimization and design

• production planning

• technical reporting (pre-feasibility, feasibility, NI 43-101 standards)

• mine-operations monitoring, auditing, and benchmarking

• tailings disposal and site reclamation

• design of segregation plans for waste rock based on geochemical characteristics

We also offer services related to drilling and blasting design, mining equipment selection, detailed mine planning and improvement, and training.

A 3D cross section of an ore deposit, generated by Maptek Vulcan mine-planning software

Example pit shell based on block model generated by Mintec MineSight software


minerals processing

Rely on Barr to provide conceptual, basic, and detailed engineering for mineral beneficiation processes such as:

• ore sizing, crushing, and screening

• stockpiling and material handling and distribution

• milling and grinding

• calcining, roasting

• gravity, magnetic, and hydraulic separation and concentration

• flotation

• evaporation, crystallization

• agglomeration and induration

• concentrate handling, storage, and loadout

• tailings processing and tailings basin management

• reclaim and scavenging

If your mineral processing facility was designed and built decades ago, you’re probably considering process improvements to boost efficiency and profitability—or perhaps you’re planning a facility expansion to increase production. Barr can assist you with:

• liberation studies and detailed metallurgy

• process evaluations and design engineering

• equipment performance improvement

• debottlenecking studies

• process modeling

• material- and energy-balance studies

Barr uses computer modeling programs such as METSIM to help client design and optimize mineral processing systems. METSIM calculates process mass and energy balances; simu-lates and tracks particle-size distributions; and models kinetics and equilibrium-based processes. It can simulate steady-state, batch, and dynamic processing operations for anything from a single unit to an entire plant. The simulation outputs provide critical data used in developing flowsheets, specifying equip-ment, and estimating labor.

For an iron-ore processing facility, Barr designed a more economical regrind system incorporating a new launder, new sumps and pumps, a cyclone cluster, and four new magnetic separators.

We also designed an economi-cal replacement for the original fine-screen oversize grinding mill. Our solution centered on a Vertimill, which is more cost-effective to operate than a tra- ditional mill. The new mill also increased the plant’s grinding capacity by removing fines from the primary grinding circuit, and its smaller footprint created more space in the plant. This project marked the first installation of a Vertimill in the U.S.


engineering design

Barr offers a full range of engineering services for mining and minerals processing plants. We provide clients with design work for everything from concept studies to final designs for new, expanded, and retrofitted facilities. Our assistance includes:

site design

• site characterization and foundation evaluation

• surveying

• grading, drainage, and preparation

• planning and design for infrastructure including

– roads, bridges, and railroad tracks and yards

– truck and rail loading and unloading systems

– port facilities

facility design

• conceptual and feasibility studies

• conceptual processes

• plant general-arrangement drawings

• process flow diagrams

• process piping and pumping

• structural steel, building foundations, and equipment support and foundations

• systems for materials handling, emissions control, and wastewater treatment

• process controls and lighting

• materials and equipment selection and procurement assistance

• preparation, review, and administration of construc-tion plans, specifications, and contract documents

Venezuelan mining company CVG Ferrominera Orinoco C.A. is building a 12-million-ton-per-year iron ore concentrator to process a combination of high-grade natural ore and low-grade taconite ore. Working with a Spanish engineering, procurement, and construction management firm, Barr led a team of five engi-neering firms in designing the concentrator on an aggressive 18-month schedule. The project is under construction, with completion and startup anticipated in 2015.

Barr has been involved with the Essar Steel Minnesota (formerly Minnesota Steel Industries) project since its inception, provid-ing comprehensive engineering, environmental review, and permitting services. We helped the facility secure permits for mining, crushing, concentrating, and taconite pelletizing, as well as for a direct-reduced iron (DRI) pellet furnace and an electric arc furnace for steel slab production.

Our work included conducting the baseline studies and environmental impact assessments for air, water, wetlands, wildlife habi-tat, and sensitive species. We also performed the conceptual engineering used during permitting and project feasibility assessment, as well as the basic engineering. The facility is currently under construction; taconite pellet production is slated to begin in 2014.


Barr’s geologists, geophysicists, and geotechnical and mining engineers work closely with our structural, civil, and environmental engineers to identify geotechnical and geological features significant to a project’s design and performance, as well as economical solutions for subsurface excavation and surface structure support. Our services include:

• groundwater, soil, and rock investigations to identify rock mass properties via rock coring and logging, in-situ strength and stress measurements, and laboratory studies

• geophysical investigations to help characterize subsurface conditions including depth to bedrock, con-tamination plumes, and bedrock-fracture zones and voids within rock masses

• sediment investigations

• analysis, design, inspection, and monitoring of shallow and deep soil and rock foundations

• instrumentation (monitoring of slope stability and slope movement, surface and subsurface settlement, tunnel-wall convergence and deformation, soil and rock stress, structural strain, pore-water pressure, vibration, and tilt)

• design of dewatering systems, tunnels, supported excavations, dams, and embankments

tailings management

For decades, Barr has assisted mining clients with the design and management of tailings basins. Our services include slope stability and liquefaction analysis, in-situ testing, instrumentation monitoring, and seepage modeling for:

geotechnical engineering

Alacer Gold is expanding one of its mine pits in Turkey. Barr prepared a site-specific drilling program that yielded detailed information about the geology of the pit-expansion area. The program incorporated oriented drilling, which provides highly accurate geotechnical data for analyzing joint patterns.

The resulting data were used to specify laboratory tests that helped determine the physical parameters of the rock, such as strength, water content, and joint-fill-material characteristics. The test results, in turn, allowed us to model scenarios with state-of-the-art software programs that produced safety factors for numerous potential pit-wall designs.

Alacer Gold and Barr worked closely together to develop the final designs, including blasting and monitoring requirements for a subsequent feasibility study.

• tailings basins and tailings disposal, including slurry, thickened tailings, paste, and dry stacking

• dams, embankments, and other earth-retention structures

• underground structures and excavations

• mine waste management

© Barr Engineering Co. 800.632.BARR www.barr.com

natural resources management

Barr has more than 30 years of experience helping mining and minerals processing companies identify environmen-tal issues posed by past, present, or proposed activities—and then find solutions. Our general services include:

• monitoring and studying baseline conditions

• modeling environmental impacts

• biodiversity planning

• remediation, reclamation, restoration, and closure of legacy properties

We provide assistance in the areas of:

• air

• surface water

• hydrogeology

• terrestrial ecosystems

• aquatic ecology

• ecosystem restoration

• greenhouse gases and climate change

Examples of specific services Barr offers are:

• sensitive-plant-species surveys

• native-plant-community mapping

• surveys of rare, threatened, and endangered species

• wildlife and habitat studies

• wetland delineation, mitigation, restoration, and creation

• air, water, and soil sampling and analysis

• fishery assessments

sustainability

Investors are increasingly demanding that businesses operate in an ethical and sustainable manner, measure their performance against global benchmarks, and pub- licly disclose their sustainability numbers. Barr helps mining and minerals processing clients develop and imple-ment sustainable practices at all points in the extraction and processing life cycle. We can assist you with:

• energy planning and alternative energy

• sustainability reporting

• life-cycle analysis

• water-use minimization

• socially responsible mining

TSM services

Adherence to the principles and protocols of the Mining Association of Canada’s “Toward Sustainable Mining” program is mandatory for MAC members with Canadian operations. Barr offers verification services, performs gap analysis for those considering implementation, and helps develop programs in compliance with TSM requirements.

• noise

• odor

• human-health risk assessment

• tribal consultation and engagement

• visual impacts

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comprehensive services for mining and minerals processing

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