The Galore Creek Project is located in rugged, mountainous terrain within the Northern Coastal Mountain Range approximately 70 km west of the Bob Quinn airstrip on Highway 37, 150 km northwest of the Port of Stewart, and 370 km northwest of the town of Smithers, British Columbia. The area experiences heavy snowfall and precipitation due to latitude and local topography combined with the Pacific coastal weather systems. The mine infrastructure, processing facilities, and access road are located in two mountain valleys with high avalanche and geohazard risk. Project area topographical constraints preclude the possibility of completely avoiding these hazards and the associated risk to personnel and infrastructure, therefore risk mitigation strategies are integral to engineering design.
The proposed slurry pipeline system has been developed to transport ore slurry from the Galore Valley Operations to the West More Tailings Management Facility (TMF). The base case alignment is generally alongside the overland access road for ease of installation and maintenance. The pipeline length is approximately 63 km and is comprised of 36” diameter carbon steel pipe with an internal HDPE/Neoprene liner for corrosion and wear resistance. The pipeline will be buried along the majority of its alignment to provide hazard and freeze protection. The system involves a combination of centrifugal pumps (Pump Station 1, located inside Galore Valley) and positive displacement pumps (Pump Station 2, located at Is? b? Camp). The pipeline is designed for pressures exceeding 2,000 psi (13.8 Mpa)
PROJECT CHALLENGES AND ALLNORTH’S SUCCESSES
As with any project of this magnitude, executed in an extremely remote location with specific design criteria requirements, Allnorth has the experience and anticipates and addresses typical project challenges early on. Utilizing Allnorth’s experienced and knowledgeable team of experts, the following project challenges were effectively addressed and ensured the successful completion of the project in line with quality standards, exceeding client expectations.
- The narrow pipeline right-of-way had potentially significant impacts on construction schedule and cost. Allnorth developed and applied novel pipeline installation techniques to different sections of the pipeline to address these issues.
- With the road design closely linked to the pipeline alignment, Allnorth designers collaborated to ensure integration of the two designs, including the use of directionally drilled segments for the pipeline.
- The expectation of substantial additional costs due to project execution in this extremely remote location, was effectively addressed in the capital cost estimate and schedule developed by the Allnorth team.
- Considering that the underground pipeline carries an ore slurry that could lead to erosion, Allnorth implemented various internal lining, bend radius and other techniques to resist erosion and maximize operating life.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design of slurry pipeline alignment
- Assessment of various construction techniques to optimize cost
- Coordination with road design, also completed by Allnorth
- Level 3 Project Schedule
- Class 3 Capital Cost Estimate
LOCATION
370 km northwest of Smithers, BC
Learn more about the project here (which is also the source of the images on this page).
