Tailings Project

 
 
If you work in mining, you know that tailings management is a necessary part of any successful operation. If you don’t, the term “tailings” refers to the waste materials that are left over after the process of separating the commodity of value from the ore. Handling this waste in an environmentally friendly way is of course critical, but effective tailings management can also extend the overall life of the mine. Currently, RCC is working with a local Utah client to do just that—with the goal of adding at least another 10 years to production.
 
This is a value engineering project for RCC, which means our role is to provide more efficient procedures and effective cost-saving methodologies to the mine throughout the expansion. We started in Fall of 2021, focusing on the expansion of the tailing’s facilities. RCC is currently working to improve the electrical and controls systems design, which includes data collection & I/O, and networking of all the different sites.
 
Because we’ve worked with this Utah-based client on numerous projects over the years, our engineers were already well acquainted with the mine and its many systems. Thanks to this relationship, we had a unique edge to offer the right expertise to support the project’s goals. But RCC understands the value of collaboration. To best meet this client’s needs, we partnered with a local engineering company that specializes in high and low-voltage power distribution. Joining forces with this company and working with multiple disciplines at the same time has been one of the greatest successes of this project.
RCC Process Improvement Manager, Steve Murdock, is leading this effort, with support from Process Controls engineers Isabel Calderon and Calan Olsen. We asked Steve to share some insight, and here’s what he had to say:
 
“This project really highlights the importance of quality documentation in avoiding major modifications or delays. It’s also important to understand needs from both a project and operations perspective and bring those two groups together.
 
But there’s one thing we always have to do as a team, and that is learn. I love training our engineers to help them understand new concepts and methodologies that they’ve never seen before. Employee development is so important, and because every project is different, we have the opportunity to learn new things every day.”
 
Thanks to our engineers for their dedication to this project and keep up the excellent teamwork!