Modern Mining November 2015

COVER STORY

Advisian’s StepWise methodology delivers a quantified range of scenarios and options for a project, as well as a detailed roadmap to execution and assessment of the risks and opportunities.

Boughton adds that the project has seen staff in Johannesburg working with colleagues in Australia. “This type of international collabo- ration between the offices of WorleyParsons is entirely seamless,” he says. “Our systems are standardised and access to required informa- tion is instantaneous across our offices and sites. Obviously in the age of the Internet, all international companies will claim to have an excellent interface between their global opera- tions but we believe that WorleyParsons is on the leading edge of this trend, with more advanced technologies and systems in place than its competitors.” Finally, Boughton makes the point that while Advisian’s biggest market penetra- tion in sub-Saharan Africa lies in the mining and metals space, all the skills residing in Advisian worldwide are available to clients in Africa. “Our goal is a more diverse client base within this region and a more diverse workload encompassing mining and metals and also power, ports, oil and gas, environ- mental and social, transportation, restoration and decommissioning, geosciences and spe- cialist technical services,” he says. “The local Advisian team has a very high reputation within the mining and resources industry. The objective now will be to further expand this reputation to every other sector we operate in and create an awareness amongst clients and potential clients of the enormous breadth of expertise we can bring to bear on their proj- ects, over and above the technical skills we’ve traditionally contributed.” 

to the strategy and roadmap. We have found this approach to be very useful to align stake- holders and manage their expectations, as well as to make the PFS a more streamlined process. “As regards base metals, we are currently working on two project studies in Botswana where enhancing value in a low-price environ- ment is critical,” he continues. “Further north in Africa, we’re providing consulting and engineering services in the iron ore sector in Mauritania.” Outside Africa, McGill points to the proj- ects in the Asian region as providing a perfect example of the range of skills that Advisian can deploy on behalf of clients. WorleyParsons (but essentially the team that now works as Advisian) has been involved with all the study phases of these projects and is currently busy with feasibility studies also. “The sheer size of a current (confidential customer) international project study makes it the biggest undertaken by our Mining Centre of Excellence here in Johannesburg and it demonstrates our ability to leverage the underground mining and processing capabil- ity that resides in our South African hub to add value to customers globally,” McGill says. “It has also seen us applying some high-tech approaches to mine design, such as virtual reality technology, which allows the client to take a ‘virtual walk’ through the mine before any drawings are generated. This technology is something that we’ve been working on for the past year and it has really demonstrated its value on this recent project.”

“This type of international collaboration between the offices of

WorleyParsons is entirely seamless. Our systems are standardised and access to required information is instantaneous across our offices and sites.”

Adam Boughton

November 2015  MODERN MINING  21