Mining Companies Depend on Contractors to Design & Build Major Projects
An Argument for EPC Contracting
By: Raymond Perr, P.E.
Mining companies typically do not maintain the in-house staff required to perform the design and manage the construction of their major new capital projects. They use outside professional firms and contractors to provide the necessary engineering, procurement, management and construction. There are a number of combinations on how these services can be packaged and purchased together, but essentially it boils down to a few major decisions:
- What portion of the engineering is going to be purchased separately from the actual construction?
- How much of the engineering is going to be purchased as part of the construction contract?
- Will the mining company purchase the major items of equipment directly, or will these items be purchased by the general contractor?
Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractors (EPC) have the capability to provide a complete turnkey package, which includes everything necessary to take a project from conception to completion and turn the keys of an operating facility over to the owner. Single sourcing the complete project allows the mining company to buy performance rather than individual items, such as engineering, pieces of equipment or installation of equipment. It eliminates the risk associated with coordinating the different contracts. There is no opportunity for finger pointing when there are problems with an EPC contract. The project either performs, or the EPC is responsible for making the necessary adjustment to assure performance.
The right EPC firm has an engineering group experienced in working at mine related facilities and knowledgeable procurement and construction professionals. They must have an in-depth understanding of the processes, how they function as a system and how the system operates as part of the mine.
Where can you find this type of talent with this type of experience? Industrial Resources, Inc. has been successfully delivering these types of EPC projects to the mining industry for close to 70 years. We understand what it takes to deliver performance.
Contact us for more information about how we can help you increase the efficiency of your operation–we look forward to working with you!
Thanks for reading,
Raymond