THE REFURBISHMENT OF STOCKPILE ARMCO TUNNELS WITH CONSIDERATION TO CORROSION DEGRADATION AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ISSUES

摘要

With mining facilities typically extending envisaged original service life requirements, management need to be more prudent in re evaluating assets to determine " fitness for purpose" of assets to be used beyond designed service life expectations. Waiting until the plant design life is imminent can result in costly refurbishment/replacement undertakings to reinstate asset integrity. This extension of plant and equipment beyond original design life has become a common undertaking for the majority of minesites within Western Australia, as exploration and technological advances in mineral recovery greatly increase original mine life expectancy thus requiring that some assets extend beyond original design capabilities. Most refurbishment activities in the mining industry involving assets deteriorated through corrosion are typically refurbished during normal plant operations and/or during scheduled plant shutdowns. However, some assets are so designed and constructed that refurbishment of the asset, even under shut-down conditions, had never originally been contemplated and require novel and unique systems and procedures to be developed to reinstate asset integrity