After completing a prefeasibility study to determine the viability of making modifications to its processing plant to produce concentrates of copper, lead, and zinc, Ouray Silver Mines (OSM) sought to complete the detailed engineering and construction associated with the new process arrangement. The mine’s existing concentrator plant is located underground and adjacent to the underground mine eight miles east of Ouray, Colorado. The project required both deconstruction and new installation of equipment to achieve steady-state operation and process approximately 276 short tons per day of mined ore.
While OSM and its contractor conducted the reconstruction work and installation of new equipment, Barr provided the detailed engineering to support equipment installation, including general arrangement drawings, detailed plans for foundations, structural supports and access, interconnecting chutes, piping, and electrical and control systems.
Barr developed the preliminary design documents for the prefeasibility study to final design, including updating the design basis; confirming process model balances; updating the existing functional description to incorporate plant upgrades; and developing updated equipment, load, and instrument lists. Barr focused on optimizing and improving the design to reduce cost and schedule and increase productivity.