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BETTESWORTHConstruction
commissioning

How to Plan Construction and Commissioning for a Gold Processing Plant

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Plan a gold-processing plant as one integrated delivery system, not as separate construction and startup projects. The baseline must connect engineering release, long-lead procurement, site construction, testing, progressive system turnover, commissioning, operational readiness, ramp-up and performance acceptance. There is no universal build time or commissioning sequence: the process route, capacity, site, approvals, contracting model and scope set the critical path.

What the plan must achieve

A usable plan answers five questions before work is committed:

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  • What process, production capacity, utilities and site infrastructure are being delivered?
  • Which engineering information must be approved before each purchase, fabrication activity and construction package?
  • When can a defined system be handed from construction to pre-commissioning with complete evidence?
  • What tests and acceptance gates allow the plant to move from dry testing to water, ore and normal production?
  • Who is authorized to start, who owns outstanding work, and what proves the plant is ready for operations?

The schedule, work breakdown structure, commissioning plan, contracts, cost forecast and handover system should use the same areas, systems, tags and responsibility boundaries. If construction tracks one set of boundaries and commissioning tracks another, defects and scope gaps become difficult to locate just when schedule pressure is highest.

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This article is a planning framework. It is not an engineering design, an execution plan for a particular deposit or a jurisdictional compliance opinion. The project’s local legal, environmental, technical and operations teams must identify the permits, notifications, inspections and statutory milestones that apply at its site.

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1. Establish the project basis and constraints

Write the project basis before building a detailed schedule. Every later date depends on these assumptions, and each assumption should have an owner and a status.

Process and production basis

  • Define the ore characteristics and variability that the plant is expected to handle.
  • Record the selected process route, design throughput, recovery or production objectives, operating hours, availability assumptions and design margins.
  • List feed preparation, crushing, grinding, classification, gravity or leaching circuits, recovery, refining, tailings, water, reagent, air, power and residue facilities included in scope.
  • Identify tie-ins to existing facilities, temporary construction services and permanent utilities.

The process route determines equipment sizes, hazardous-area requirements, control philosophy, water balance, commissioning fluids and the conditions under which ore can safely be introduced. Do not set a commissioning date while these fundamentals remain moving targets.

Site and infrastructure constraints

  • Confirm access roads, bridges, laydown areas, heavy-lift routes, camps, warehouses and security arrangements.
  • Establish seasonal weather, flooding, temperature, dust, geotechnical and seismic assumptions that can change productivity or installation methods.
  • Map available power, raw and process water, communications, fuel, laboratories, workshops, waste handling and emergency response.
  • Identify interfaces with the mine, grid, water facilities, tailings storage, accommodation and public infrastructure.

Execution, commercial and approval basis

  • Choose the delivery strategy—such as EPC, EPCM, multiple construction packages or an owner-managed model—and state exactly where responsibility changes hands.
  • Define contract battery limits, design responsibility, vendor-data obligations, inspection hold points, spares, commissioning support and performance-test obligations.
  • Build a permitting register covering environmental approvals, water, construction, electrical, pressure, hazardous materials, mining and occupational safety requirements applicable to the jurisdiction.
  • Set the owner’s requirements for maintainability, availability, automation, documentation, training, initial fills, operating spares and handover.

Approval dates should be logic-linked to design releases and construction starts. A permit shown only as a note in a risk register is not a schedule activity with a predecessor, owner and evidence of completion.

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2. Build an integrated, logic-linked schedule

Use one integrated schedule that joins engineering, procurement, construction, completion and commissioning. The schedule should show physical work and the information needed to release that work.

Minimum workstreams

Workstream Planning content Typical completion evidence
Engineering Design criteria, calculations, drawings, specifications, vendor-document review, control narratives and construction work packs Approved-for-construction information and released vendor data
Procurement and logistics Long-lead equipment, purchase orders, fabrication, factory testing, preservation, shipping, customs and site receipt Accepted equipment, certificates, inspection records and delivery confirmation
Civil and underground works Earthworks, piling, foundations, slabs, drainage, trenches, roads and buried services Survey, concrete, embedment, backfill and test records
Structural, mechanical and piping Steel, tanks, vessels, conveyors, pumps, mills, piping, insulation and access systems Installation inspection, alignment, pressure or leak tests and mechanical-completion records
Electrical and instrumentation Substations, distribution, cable routes, cabling, earthing, lighting, instruments, controls and communications Inspection, continuity, insulation, calibration, loop and functional-test records
Completion and handover System boundaries, turnover packages, punch-list control, preservation, turnover and acceptance Signed turnover package with controlled outstanding work
Commissioning and ramp-up Pre-commissioning, dry tests, water or suitable-fluid tests, ore/load introduction, ramp-up and performance tests Approved test records, operating data and acceptance certificates

Protect the critical path

Identify equipment and information that can stop several downstream activities. A mill, transformer, thickener, control-system server, reagent package or long-span structure may be more schedule-critical than the largest item by cost. Give each such item dates for design freeze, purchase order, vendor drawing approval, fabrication, inspection, shipping, site receipt, installation, testing and release to commissioning.

Make interfaces explicit. For example, a pump cannot be function-tested merely because it is bolted down: its foundation, alignment, suction and discharge piping, lubrication, electrical supply, motor protection, instrument signals, drain paths and control logic must all be available. Link those predecessor activities in the schedule rather than hiding them in a broad “mechanical completion” bar.

Use a project estimate as an estimate, not a promise

The 2024 feasibility-study technical report for the Doropo Gold Project estimated 117 weeks from EPCM contract award to practical completion, with first gold scheduled in week 118. That is a single project estimate, not an industry average or a reliable duration for another plant. The relevant comparison is the logic behind the dates: scope, site conditions, procurement strategy, construction productivity, approvals, commissioning criteria and owner readiness.

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When asked, “How long does it take to build and commission a gold processing plant?”, present a range only after those drivers are defined. A credible forecast includes calendar assumptions, design maturity, long-lead exposure, weather, shift patterns, access, construction sequence, test durations, ramp-up criteria and contingency. Do not convert one feasibility-study schedule into a generic promise.

3. Sequence construction for progressive turnover

Construction and commissioning should overlap deliberately. Divide the plant into areas and systems that can be completed, inspected, isolated and tested without waiting for the entire facility.

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Choose boundaries that can be tested

A useful boundary has a clear physical limit, a defined energy and process isolation, a responsible organization and a testable function. Examples might include a raw-water system, a crushing train, a reclaim-water circuit, a reagent system or an electrical substation. The exact boundaries depend on the plant’s process and hazard analysis.

For each boundary, define:

  • Included equipment, tags, cables, instruments, pipework, structures and software functions.
  • Required upstream and downstream interfaces, temporary services and isolation points.
  • Construction-completion criteria and the records required in the turnover package.
  • Pre-commissioning tests, test medium, acceptance limits, reinstatement and preservation requirements.
  • Who accepts the package, who controls defects and who owns it after turnover.

Overlap disciplines without creating congestion

Earthworks, foundations, steel, mechanical installation, piping, electrical and instrumentation normally overlap. Overlap shortens the calendar only when work fronts, permits, lifting plans, access and quality controls are coordinated. Excessive overlap can create unsafe congestion, damage completed work, block inspection access and make responsibility unclear. The Doropo feasibility report describes overlapping disciplines followed by area-by-area turnover for wet commissioning; that pattern illustrates the principle, not a mandatory sequence.

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Use a turnover map

Create a map showing each area, system, battery limit, planned mechanical-completion date, pre-commissioning date, wet-commissioning date and process-introduction date. Tie the map to the schedule and the tag register. A weekly turnover meeting should review only evidence-based status: what is complete, what is tested, what is blocked and what risk is being accepted.

4. Define construction completion and handover evidence

“Mechanically complete” must be a measurable status, not a subjective declaration that the crew has left an area. Define completion before construction starts and include the definition in work packages and contracts.

Evidence to plan for

Evidence group What it should demonstrate
Design and as-built information The installed configuration matches approved design, with controlled deviations and surveyed as-built data
Materials and equipment Correct materials, equipment identity, certificates, traceability and preservation were maintained
Installation and workmanship Inspection points, weld records, torque or tension records, alignment, supports, coatings and workmanship checks were accepted
Mechanical and piping tests Pressure, leak, flushing, cleaning, rotation, lubrication and reinstatement tests met defined criteria
Electrical tests Continuity, insulation resistance, earthing, protection settings, energization checks and equipment tests were recorded
Instrumentation and controls Calibration, impulse-line checks, loop checks, alarms, trips, interlocks and cause-and-effect functions were verified
Isolation and safety Blinds, locks, tags, guards, relief paths, access, signage and hazardous-area requirements are in place
Punch list Outstanding work is categorized, assigned, risk-assessed, scheduled and accepted by the proper authority

UK Health and Safety Executive guidance emphasizes verification that the correct materials and equipment were installed to specification, that workmanship and acceptance tests were checked, and that commissioning exercises were recorded. Its legal context is UK-specific, but the evidence discipline is broadly useful. The project’s contract and jurisdiction determine the records, signatories and retention period actually required.

Control punch lists by consequence

Use categories that distinguish startup blockers from work that can safely follow startup. A missing guard, failed trip, open pressure boundary or unresolved electrical defect cannot be treated like a label or cosmetic coating repair. Each item needs a location, description, responsible person, target date, risk assessment, temporary control and closure evidence. Do not permit a general “minor works” category to hide an unreviewed hazard.

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5. Write the commissioning execution plan early

Commissioning planning should begin during engineering and design, not after construction appears finished. G. Lane and P. Messenger’s “Commissioning” chapter in Advances in Gold Ore Processing describes installation testing, no-load testing, system checks, water and ore commissioning, performance trials and early operation; its sequence reinforces the need to design for testability.

What the plan must contain

  • Scope, system boundaries, exclusions and interfaces.
  • Phase definitions and entry and exit criteria.
  • Accountabilities, delegated authorities, shift coverage and escalation routes.
  • Isolation, permit-to-work, lockout/tagout, simultaneous-operations and emergency arrangements.
  • Test procedures, forms, acceptance limits, data handling and record control.
  • Temporary facilities, water, power, chemicals, fuel, laboratories, communications, spare parts and specialist support.
  • Training, operator participation, maintenance support and vendor attendance.
  • Punch-list rules, turnover acceptance, risk review and final performance-test methodology.

Phase 1: Construction verification and mechanical completion

Confirm that installation conforms to approved design and that the work package is ready for testing. Verify equipment identity, materials, access, guards, drains, lubrication, alignment, cleanliness, pressure boundaries, electrical terminations, instrument installation and isolation points. Close or formally control defects before declaring the system ready for pre-commissioning.

Phase 2: Pre-commissioning and dry commissioning

Inspect, clean, energize where authorized and function-check systems without process feed. Typical activities include flushing, blowing, pressure or leak testing, motor bump tests, rotation checks, calibration, loop checks, valve stroking, alarm and trip verification, interlock tests and control-system cause-and-effect checks. Use the risk assessment to determine whether a water or other suitable fluid is allowed and what temporary protections are required.

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Phase 3: Water or suitable-fluid commissioning

Test system behavior and controls before introducing ore and process chemicals when the design and risk assessment permit. Confirm pump curves in the installed system, tank levels, flow paths, leaks, drainage, control response, alarms, trips, communications and operator procedures. Record abnormal conditions and restore or isolate equipment before the next phase.

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Phase 4: Process or load commissioning

Introduce ore and process materials under controlled procedures. Use a staged feed plan with defined hold points, laboratory sampling, control-room coverage, maintenance response and emergency criteria. Track stability, bottlenecks, blockages, plugging, wear, reagent behavior, water balance, emissions and residue performance. A system that passed a water test is not automatically ready for ore.

Phase 5: Ramp-up and performance testing

Increase toward design conditions in controlled steps. Set objective criteria for throughput, recovery or production, product quality, availability, utility consumption, tailings or residue behavior, emissions and safety performance as applicable to the contract and owner requirements. Resolve deficiencies, document approved operating limits and complete the agreed performance trial. Do not call first gold, first concentrate or another early product milestone equivalent to final performance acceptance unless the contract says so.

The Doropo report specifically describes pre-commissioning, wet commissioning, process/load commissioning, ramp-up to design capacity and performance testing. Those phases are a useful model, but their tests, fluids, hold points and acceptance values must be adapted to the actual plant.

6. Prepare operations before startup

Operational readiness is a workstream, not a document delivered at the end. Include operations and maintenance personnel in design reviews, maintainability reviews, hazard studies, control-system workshops, constructability reviews and commissioning procedure development.

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Readiness activities

  • Write and approve operating, isolation, sampling, startup, shutdown, upset and emergency procedures.
  • Train operators on the process, control system, alarms, interlocks, field equipment, chemical hazards and abnormal situations.
  • Verify maintenance strategies, job plans, lubrication routes, calibration intervals, condition-monitoring points and access provisions.
  • Load equipment data, spare parts, consumables, drawings and safety information into the systems used by operations and maintenance.
  • Stock initial fills, critical spares, laboratory supplies, personal protective equipment and emergency-response equipment.
  • Run drills for loss of power, loss of water, blocked equipment, chemical exposure, fire, communications failure and evacuation as appropriate to the site.
  • Confirm control-room staffing, field coverage, supervision, competent electricians and instrument technicians for every commissioning shift.

The Doropo report notes possible EPCM support for the owner’s operational-readiness plan. Whether that support exists, and where its responsibility ends, must be written into the contract. The owner still needs competent people who can accept the plant and operate it safely.

Use a formal startup-readiness review

Before authorizing startup, review commissioning completion criteria and every outstanding item. Energy Institute guidance describes Category B items as work to complete before startup approval and Category C items as work that may be completed after startup under a robust schedule. The labels used by a project may differ, but the decision principle is the same:

  • Startup-blocking work is complete, tested and evidenced.
  • Any remaining work has a documented risk assessment, isolation or temporary control, owner, due date and approved execution method.
  • Procedures, drawings, permits, emergency arrangements and test records are available at the point of use.
  • Required operators, maintainers, supervisors, contractors and specialists are present and competent for the planned activity.
  • Utilities, spares, laboratories, communications, waste handling and emergency services are available.
  • The authorized line manager or delegated approving authority has reviewed the evidence and signed the decision.

A readiness review is an authorization gate, not a progress meeting. If evidence is missing, the correct outcome is to defer, restrict or stage the startup—not to rename the missing work.

7. Integrate safety and legal requirements

Commissioning changes the plant’s energy state, introduces moving equipment and may bring chemicals, pressure, heat, dust and process material into areas that were previously construction zones. Reassess hazards for every phase and every change in operating mode.

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Controls that should be planned

  • Define the permit-to-work and isolation authority for construction, commissioning and operations when they overlap.
  • Separate live, pressurized, energized and chemically charged systems from unfinished work with physical boundaries and controlled access.
  • Verify guards, relief devices, ventilation, containment, drainage, fire protection, emergency stops, alarms and interlocks before the relevant hazard is introduced.
  • Control simultaneous operations through a daily coordination process and a current area status board.
  • Record temporary modifications, bypasses and inhibited trips with approval, compensating measures and restoration requirements.
  • Confirm that contractor personnel understand the site rules, communication methods and emergency response.

Legal duties vary by jurisdiction. For example, section 105 of Queensland’s Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation 2017 states: “The operator or site senior executive must ensure plant is commissioned in its operating environment at the mine before the plant is used to ensure the following matters—”. The provision also addresses manufacturer instructions and adequate precautions. This is a Queensland-specific example, not a global rule; the project’s legal team must identify the equivalent duties, notices and approvals at the actual mine.

Commission in the operating environment whenever practicable. Testing a pump, conveyor, control loop or safety function in a workshop does not prove that it works after installation with the site’s power quality, communications, upstream and downstream equipment, weather, access constraints and operating procedures.

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8. Decide delivery and handover responsibilities explicitly

Different delivery approaches can work. The risk lies in leaving the interfaces implicit.

Decision axis Questions to settle in the plan
Owner versus contractor responsibility Who writes procedures, supplies commissioning staff, controls permits, accepts tests, manages vendors and signs readiness?
Area or system turnover versus whole-plant handover Which boundaries can be independently isolated and tested, and what temporary services are required?
Outstanding work Which categories block startup, who approves exceptions and how are post-startup tasks controlled?
Long-lead and interface risk Which vendor data, deliveries, tie-ins or approvals can stop several work fronts?
Operations capability When do operators join design reviews, training, dry tests, wet tests, ore introduction and performance trials?
Acceptance and payment Are mechanical completion, commissioning completion, first product and performance acceptance distinct contractual milestones?

The schedule should show responsibility changes at each turnover. A contractor may install and test equipment, while the owner controls operating permits and accepts the system. In another arrangement, the contractor may provide EPCM commissioning support and readiness assistance. Neither model removes the need for a named authority and objective evidence.

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9. A practical planning workflow

Use the following sequence to turn the framework into a project-specific plan.

  1. Freeze the planning basis. Record process route, capacity, site, infrastructure, scope, approvals, contracting strategy, operating philosophy and assumptions.
  2. Create the area and system register. Assign tags, battery limits, interfaces, isolation points, responsible organizations and turnover sequence.
  3. Build the engineering release schedule. Link design criteria, calculations, drawings, specifications and vendor data to procurement and construction work packs.
  4. Identify long-lead exposure. Set dates for technical requisitions, purchase orders, vendor drawing approval, factory inspection, shipment, receipt and preservation.
  5. Develop the construction work breakdown. Sequence civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation work by area and access constraint.
  6. Define completion criteria. Write the evidence required for every system before construction starts, including tests, certificates, as-builts and punch-list categories.
  7. Draft commissioning procedures early. Specify phase entry and exit criteria, test media, safety controls, records, resources and acceptance limits.
  8. Resource the commissioning organization. Confirm supervisors, operators, maintainers, control specialists, laboratories, vendors, shifts, temporary utilities and emergency support.
  9. Run progressive turnover. Accept only complete, testable boundaries; preserve equipment and control access after turnover.
  10. Conduct phase-gate reviews. Require evidence before dry testing, wet commissioning, ore introduction, ramp-up and performance testing.
  11. Hold the startup-readiness review. Verify procedures, competence, utilities, safety systems, punch-list controls and legal prerequisites before authorization.
  12. Close out and learn. Capture as-builts, test data, operating limits, defects, spares, training records and lessons for the final handover and future maintenance.

10. Common planning failures and corrections

Failure: treating first product as the finish line

Why it fails: First gold or another first-product event can occur before stable operation, contractual performance, documentation and outstanding work are complete.

Correction: Show first product, ramp-up, performance testing, reliability demonstration and final handover as separate milestones with separate criteria.

Failure: using “mechanically complete” without a turnover package

Why it fails: Missing test records, as-builts or material certificates surface during startup, when access is restricted and the original crew may be gone.

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Correction: Make turnover evidence a schedule deliverable and refuse acceptance until the package is complete or an approved exception identifies the risk and owner.

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Failure: commissioning the whole plant at once

Why it fails: Defects cannot be isolated, temporary services compete, and construction teams remain in areas that operations believe they control.

Correction: Select boundaries that can be isolated and tested, then turn them over progressively while managing interfaces and simultaneous operations.

Failure: leaving operations until late

Why it fails: Procedures, staffing, spares and control-room competence are not ready when equipment is ready.

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Correction: Put operations and maintenance personnel in design, maintainability, procedure, training and dry-test activities from the engineering phase onward.

Failure: accepting schedule overlap without access control

Why it fails: Congestion, damage, unclear permits and conflicting isolations create both safety and productivity losses.

Correction: Use area status boards, daily simultaneous-operations reviews, defined handback rules and physical separation of live and unfinished systems.

Failure: treating every punch item as equal

Why it fails: A cosmetic defect and a failed trip may appear in the same list, obscuring startup risk.

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Correction: Categorize by consequence, require authority approval for deferred work and verify compensating controls before startup.

How to judge whether the plan is credible

A credible plan is specific enough that a new team member can identify the next required action, the evidence needed and the person who can authorize it. Test the plan with these questions:

  • Can every commissioning activity be traced to a system boundary and an approved procedure?
  • Can every construction package be traced to design information, materials, inspections and a turnover package?
  • Are long-lead items and vendor data linked to the work they release?
  • Does each startup blocker have an owner, due date and closure evidence?
  • Are first product, ramp-up and performance acceptance separate decisions?
  • Are legal, environmental and safety milestones identified for the actual jurisdiction?
  • Can the owner demonstrate that competent personnel, procedures, utilities and emergency controls will be available on each commissioning shift?

If any answer is no, the schedule may still display dates, but it is not yet an integrated construction-and-commissioning plan.

Conclusion

Plan the gold plant backward from safe, authorized operation and forward from the engineering and procurement decisions that make construction possible. Establish the project basis, logic-link every workstream, protect long-lead interfaces, divide the facility into testable systems, require evidence at turnover, stage commissioning from verification through performance testing, and prepare the operating organization before startup. Treat published durations—such as the Doropo estimate of 117 weeks to practical completion and first gold in week 118—as project-specific evidence, never as a promise for another site. The strongest plan is the one that makes each handover and startup decision objective, documented and owned.

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