Placer Dome contracted us to perform the detailed design, procurement, commissioning and start-up assistance for an autoclave expansion at their Campbell processing facility. The fast-track project required all CAD design to be completed to tender the bid on a lump sum basis with construction drawings.

In addition to the autoclave, other facilities included a boiler plant for startup, high pressure agitator seal water and autoclave quench water systems and a 35 t/day oxygen plant (by others).

The autoclave plant contained a lead- and brick-lined autoclave that operated at 190° C and 290 psig. The associated flash vessel dropped the process stream down to atmospheric pressure.

Our responsibilities included:

• Detailed design of the entire autoclave plant

• Specifications for equipment and materials for procurement

• Tendering bid recommendations and requisitions for all equipment

• Distributed control system (DCS) programming

• Field commissioning

• Ongoing operations support