Lihir Gold – Leach Tanks 45 & 47

The Project

Further to Saunders expansion into the Papua New Guinea market, in 2017 Lihir Gold Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newcrest Mining, engaged Saunders to complete a major tanks project at their gold processing plant located at Lihir Island in the New Ireland Province of PNG.

Scope:

• Demolition and replacement of Leach Tanks 45 and 47, at an approximate size of 14m diameter x 15m high each
• Mechanical and access works, removal and replacement of agitators and disconnection / reconnection of the electrics
• The tank design and pre-fabrication were completed by Saunders in-house engineering design team and specialist fabrication team at our headquarters in Condell Park, NSW; while the demolition and construction ensued on-site utilising a combination of local PNG and expat personnel
• The works were carried out in an extremely congested Brownfield environment
• Site location was subject to high rainfall and a tropical climate
• Works successfully delivered in an operating plant environment