Jacinth-Ambrosia Mineral Sands Mine

Our project management services assisted in delivering this mine six weeks ahead of schedule and approximately 10 percent under budget.

Location

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Client

Iluka Resources Limited

Project Value

AU$420 million

Project Status

Completed 2009

Awards

2010 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence Project of the Year and Gold Award of Merit for Project Management
2010 South Australian Engineers Excellence Award for Project Management

The Jacinth-Ambrosia mine site is situated South Australia’s Eucla Basin. It is comprised of two contiguous deposits, Jacinth and Ambrosia located about 800 km from Adelaide and 270 km from the Port of Thevenard near the township of Ceduna.

The mine was delivered via an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contractual model under demanding and remote conditions where there was almost no existing infrastructure.

End-to-end solution

We worked as part of an integrated project team with the owner, Iluka Resources, to deliver the project. The team was responsible for the entire mine development and all associated infrastructure including:

Roads
The accommodation village
Water supply
Reverse osmosis water treatment
Power station
Airstrip
Communications

We established the initial estimate and managed financial controls and forecasting, the development and maintenance of the master project schedule, document control, quality assurance, construction management, and contract administration.

As part of our engagement, we undertook extensive consultation with Australian government agencies to comply with environmental controls, including measures to minimise the clearing of vegetation and stripping of topsoil.

Key achievements

The Jacinth-Ambrosia Mineral Sands Mine was completed six weeks ahead of schedule and approximately 10 percent under budget. The project began in August 2007 and progressed from approvals to delivery of the first shipment of heavy mineral concentrate in just over 18 months. The project has won numerous industry excellence awards for project management.

Despite the speed with which the project was completed, it compiled an outstanding safety record and adhered to strict environmental regulations during construction in a regional conservation reserve. More than 900,000 labour hours were performed in a harsh, remote desert environment without a single lost-time injury.

Today, the mine can produce up to 300,000 tonnes of zircon per annum, with production levels related to market demand.

Capacity (Tpa)

300000