Newmont Long Canyon Mine
Elko County, Nev.
Best Project
Owner/Developer: Newmont Mining Corp.
Design Firm: GSBS Architects
General Contractor: Big-D Construction
Civil Engineer: NewFields Cos.
Electrical Engineer: Envision Engineering
Structural Engineer: ARW Engineers
MEP Engineer: Van Boerum & Frank Associates
Project Manager: Rich Cox
Structural Steel Engineer: GEM Buildings
Subcontractors: Great Basin Ecology; Fire Engineering Co.; PEPG Consulting LLC; Farr West Engineers; Mine and Mill Engineering Inc.; Precision Systems Engineering
Covering more than 24,000 acres in northern Nevada, the $80-million Newmont Long Canyon open-pit gold mine is carved into the side of the Pequop Mountains. Big-D collaborated with owner Newmont Mining Corp., GSBS Architects and an extensive team of engineers through the preconstruction phase for the mine and its onsite facilities. The project included all site civil work and road development.
Additional project scope included a security guard shack, mine administrative building, a carbon-in-column processing building, a nearly 4-million-sq-ft heap leach pad, water truck filling stations, two fuel stations, communications towers, silo storage and facilities, and an onsite geology lab.
Extreme cold and heavy snow at the northern Nevada site challenged the project team. As a result, Big-D assembled crews and subcontractors familiar with placing concrete and erecting steel in similar conditions. At least 75% of subcontractors were from northern Nevada.
Additional challenges faced by the construction team included natural and archaeological factors. The discovery of nesting birds halted earthwork early on until they left the area. Archaeologists and tribal monitors observed all ground disturbances in the event of any significant cultural discoveries.
There were no lost-time accidents in more than 400,000 worker-hours, which Big-D credits to subcontractor prequalification, training and incentives. All workers at the jobsite were required to have annual MSHA training as well as a three-hour, site-specific safety training program.
The entire project used field-level risk assessments for daily task hazard identification, review and mitigation.
Related Article: Pursuing Excellence Drives Best Projects
