The startup period should be a time of high emotion and general bonhommie but surprisingly few project engineers want to be around when the switches are turned on. They know too much about how the thing was built and are afraid of the fallout when things that weren’t supposed to happen start to happen and things that were supposed to happen don’t. Best to be 500 miles away working on the next project!

In most mining projects there is a certain amount of development work required in the mine before the ore can be accessed and delivered to the plant. For this reason the mine usually starts up at least 6 months before the plant is completed. Most mines are pretty straight forward so, as long as the ore is where the geologists said it would be, that part of the startup is trouble free. When the plant is ready to start there will be a large stockpile of ore sitting in front of it and an army of engineers and tradespeople on hand to deal with the weirdnesses. Taking a deep breath, the plant manager gives the ok to hit the switch and the crusher and feed conveyor turn on, then the ball mill, then water is introduced into the system and amidst all the noise and rotating equipment there are high fives all around until someone notices a deluge of water running out of the plant on the bottom floor and “What is that drumming against the plant siding?” Suddenly a soaked operator runs out screaming to turn everything off as no one remembered to put in the pump seals. For a couple of weeks it goes like this until the all the bolts are tightened, the seals are in place and water swirls around properly. Then the rock is introduced into the system and everyone holds their breath again to see what damage this will do. This usually results in another couple of weeks of trauma and the plant operators all threaten to quit if they have to dig out another sump that has filled up with sand. Again this is normal and after a month the plant can be said to be commissioned. At this point the owner takes over the plant and gives the contractor a long list of things to fix. Remember that contractors rarely operate plants and operators rarely construct plants so there are always weirdnesses that need to be fixed up - and this is why there is a contingency in the cost estimate. It covers the weirdnesses.

It is rare for a plant startup to take more than a few months but most operators like to have things going smoothly for at least 6 months before the president of the company (you) are told that it is ok to pay a visit. The last thing anyone wants is for the president to be sandblasted with a leaking slurry line. The president’s visit is usually an auspicious occasion calling for the smashing of champagne bottles and much speechifying. Everyone who had anything to do with the finding, engineering, financing and construction of this latest contribution to the betterment of society is invited to come out and say, “Wow... isn’t that amazing!” And it is amazing. The whole mining industry is amazing really and is populated with very fine people who have great stories if you care to listen. And that is all I have to say about that.