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Markets
Minerals & metals
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Location
Cerrejon, Colombia
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Client
Cerrejon
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Completion date
2019
Cesar Inostroza
CEO Minerals and Metals, Montreal, Canada contact form+1 514 393 8000 x58636
A landmark project for Colombia’s mining industry
In 2011, Cerrejon in northern Colombia—one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines—awarded us an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract to expand its operations, strengthen its infrastructure and optimize its processes. There were three key elements to this project: upgrading the mine facilities, expanding the railway works and improving the port material handling facilities.
It was the first large-scale mining project carried out in Colombia in 20 years. The client’s ultimate goal was to boost the site’s production, transportation and loading capacity from 32 to 40 million tons of coal for export—all without interrupting its operations during the expansion work.
To help us provide integrated solutions and meet the ambitious target, we formed a joint venture to provide preliminary and detailed engineering, procurement, construction management, pre-commissioning and overall project management.
A complex project spanning three different sites
The challenging mandate called for expansion and upgrading work at three separate sites, with the construction phase completed in November 2014.
At the mine, we installed a new crusher, helping to increase the conveyor’s throughput capacity between silos, drivers and samplers to 6,000 tons per hour. We also expanded the support infrastructure with new features such as a 4,228-m2 welding shop, a 40,000-barrel diesel tank, a repair shop, truck washing bays and extra tire changing and maintenance bays.
Elsewhere, we expanded the railway works siding and maintenance lines along with the railway terminals for a total of 14 km in rail extensions. At the port, we built over 2,000 meters of transport conveyor belts, transfer towers with a capacity of 2,000 tons per hour, a new sampler and auxiliary equipment, a new 180,000 dwt loading berth and two ship loaders with a capacity of 5,500 tons per hour each.
Prioritizing safety and the environment throughout the project
We maintained the strictest health, safety, environmental and quality standards during the 4½ years and 7.5 million person-hours needed to complete the work. The results speak for themselves: there were no fatal accidents or serious injuries recorded, nor was there any damage to the local ecosystems at any of the worksites.
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