What mining infrastructure covers
Mining operations depend on a surface civil layer that is easy to overlook until it fails: the roads that carry the load, the platforms the plant sits on, the water and sewer that serve the site, and the drainage that keeps all of it working through a wet season. We provide that civil engineering support to mining clients, from early earthworks through to established site servicing.
The engineering principles are the same as on any civil project. What differs is the loading, the operating environment, and the fact that the infrastructure usually has to stay in service while it is being extended.
Typical deliverables
- Access and haul road design — alignment, geometry, layerworks and drainage designed for the vehicles that will actually use the road.
- Bulk earthworks — cut and fill design, platform levels and terrace design for plant, stockpiles and surface facilities.
- Site servicing — water supply, sewer and storm water reticulation for operational and support areas.
- Surface infrastructure — civil works for workshops, offices, laydown areas, weighbridges and similar facilities.
- Storm water and erosion control — drainage and silt management for disturbed ground.
When you need it
Typically at the point of establishing or expanding a site: opening a new area, upgrading roads that are failing under load, formalising services that grew incrementally, or preparing platforms for new plant. Road and drainage problems in particular tend to become visible at the start of a wet season, which is the worst time to begin designing a solution.
How we work
Work starts with what the site actually looks like, established through topographical survey and geotechnical investigation — on mining sites the material available on site usually governs what is economic to build. Designs are then developed around the operating constraints and, where required, taken through to construction supervision.
Drainage is treated as part of the design rather than an afterthought, using the same approach as our storm water and flood management work.