Didipio Underground Development

Didipio Underground Development – Mintrex was awarded the concept stage of Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Didipio Underground primary dewatering system in early August 2015 with the requirement to present the concept design for the system in a report to OceanaGold no later than 30^th September 2015.

The Didipio gold-copper mine is located on the main island of Luzon in the Philippines and is regarded as one of the lowest cost gold mines globally.

The underground mine is located under the associated open pit mine in an area with high seasonal rainfall and water is expected to enter the underground mine from the open pit as well as from regional geological structures.

Mintrex assembled an industry expert peer review panel and created a project residual risk register at the commencement of the work to focus the team on the required outcomes. Mintrex presented the concept design to OceanaGold in a compiled report before the required date and for the quoted price.  This was achieved in spite of some late changes to the design specifications and concerns that arose from peer reviews and the risk register requiring refinement of the concept design.

OceanaGold reported particular value was provided by the peer review process and clear identification of risks and opportunities that arise from the rigorous application of the Mintrex “Zero Base Design” process.

The Mintrex document provided OceanaGold with a clear concept outline for the project and sufficient detail of the scope to allow OceanaGold to seek competitive tenders for further work.