The term “deliverables” represents all the final products from the feasibility study. It includes the feasibility report itself which is usually a multi-volume document. Taken as a whole the volumes are often referred to as the Design Basis Memorandum. This means that the feasibility study sets the design criteria to be used to engineer the project if it is approved. Data on weather, rock conditions, elevation for engine de-rating, haul road design criteria, recovery curves for the plant design and a whole host of other design issues is contained in the document. If someone has a new concept and a better way to build this particular mouse trap it will create a new feasibility study. It is very important to not introduce changes to the design basis at the engineering or construction stage. This will always be very expensive and almost never results in a better project. The up-front work done at the feasibility stage is the project insurance policy. Never, never buy stock in a company that says, “Never mind, we can make the changes later.” This is a ticket to project management hell or, at best, a spot in the nearest homeless shelter.

The feasibility volumes include equipment lists, process flow sheets, process and instrumentation drawings, electrical single line drawings, cash flow spreadsheets and environmental review statements. It really is an impressive document and almost always finds its way to a vacant shelf immediately that it is written. And it is almost never opened again - which is a pity because it is the culmination of the best thinking of a whole bunch of people. Actually I am wrong. If the people that wrote the design basis then do the detailed engineering there is no need for them to open the feasibility study because it is in their heads. If a new set of engineers do the detailed design then they will have to read the design basis and the inevitable happens - they think of a whole bunch of new and better ways to do things and Pandora’s box is opened. Unless, of course, the project owner is very disciplined and actually puts on the rack someone who tries to change the design basis. Watching the guy from the next cubicle enduring that kind of torture really focuses the mind and design basis wavering ends before it can begin.

One of the really big mysteries of my life has been, “Where does the money come from to pay for all this?” Project financing is an interesting topic and we get to it next.