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Never Say Never

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

"They told me it couldn't be done," remarked Terry McCutcheon, P.Eng. of Golder Paste Technology in Sudbury Ontario. "I contacted (other manufacturers) and was informed that the buildings were too complex to work as a steel building system, that's when Ted Purvis advised me to call Colony." Terry was referring to the buildings housing Diavik Diamond Mine's new paste plant and crusher near Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. Part of Golder's responsibility on the project was the calling of the tenders for a steel building system housing each plant and Terry was struggling to find a company who could do it. Ted Purvis is Construction Manager, Capital Projects for Diavik and his recommendation was not unfounded. "I worked with Jim (Jim Peacey, Colony's Vice President and General Manager) in the past. In all the years I've known Jim he's always been open with all our dealings. His honesty and business integrity is top shelf...I know I can trust him to deliver," Ted told us in a recent email. As it turns out, living up to this was not going to be an easy task.

Pat Versavel, Director of Operations at Behlen recalls the issues around getting the building design completed in order to achieve the required fabrication date. "This type of project with the multiple floor levels, elevated equipment loads, piping and ducting loads, along with the integration and support of all the interior steel, would typically present a major challenge to a steel building manufacturer. Fortunately, with our past experiences and knowledgeable design team, Behlen was able to accommodate the clients requirements exactly as they requested." This brings us to another hurdle Colony would have to cross. All of the interior steel was added to the contract including the need to meet the winter road delivery requirements.

"The schedule was quite demanding" remarked Chris Lee, Golder's Project Manager. "We appreciate the success you guys have had in meeting the schedule." Ted Purvis agreed, "The winter road became our critical path and I have to say that you guys jumped through some pretty big hoops to satisfy our requirements. Jim really went that extra mile to find fabrication shops and detailers to get that (miscellaneous platforms and supporting steel work) processed and onto our ice road. Jim was a key component in giving us the success we got."

Ted explains further regarding the need for the two structures, "The crusher building is used to crush rocks for both our road requirements and also for the paste plant. Crushed rock is conveyed to the paste plant where it is first crushed to 3/8" before being ground in a ball mill to a fine paste. Water and Cement are added to the mix to produce a concrete paste that is used to backfill the mined out stopes in the Diamond bearing Kimberlite Pipes." This detailed explanation best explains the complications of designing the steel building to accommodate the various multi-level equipment and operating loads.

The Diavik Diamond Mine which is located on a 20 square kilometre island is expected to produce over 100 million carats of diamonds over its 16 to 22 year anticipated life span. The area is very remote and major freight must be shipped over a seasonal winter road originating from Yellowknife. Diavik's total footprint is approximately 9 square kilometers. Construction capital cost was 1.3 billion dollars Canadian. In 2006, for the first time ever, the winter ice road opened late and closed early, stranding many loads in Yellowknife. It was therefore imperative that Colony make the 2007 ice road to accommodate Diavik's mandate. A water treatment plant building, two storage buildings, and a truck shop expansion were also added to Colony's original scope of work. Colony is currently on site completing the erection of the various buildings, as well as the installation of the internal equipment.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

Never Say Never
Posted by Colony Management on Tuesday, September 18, 2007


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