Construction Management and Infrastructure Support (CQA) | Enhanced Metal Recovery/Injection Leaching | Environmental Services/Risk Assessments
Facility Closure, Reclamation, and Remediation | Feasibility Studies | Geotechnical, Geological, and Civil Engineering |Heap Leach Pads/Ponds and Tailings Dams
Hydrology, Hydrogeology, and Water Supply Management | Planning and Permitting
GLA’s industry-recognized experts provide mine consulting services for worldwide projects in a variety of climates and terrains from high rainfall, tropical sites to arid, mountainous areas.
GLA’s experts have demonstrated sound engineering to resolve geotechnical conditions and environmental restrictions facing many of the mines around the world. GLA has provided engineering services for mines in the following countries:
GLA provides a complete range of project-specific, on-site construction observation and testing services to ensure that each project is built to design specifications. We assist our clients during bidding and construction and ensure that projects are adequately staffed and supported throughout their design, bidding and contracting, construction, and regulatory approval phases.
Our professionals are experienced in providing:
Construction QA/QC materials expertise includes:
Mine Infrastructure Design and Support
GLA is highly experienced in providing daily observation, testing, and documentation for mining projects. Upon completion of construction, we provide documentation, certifications, and as-built reporting for regulatory approval. We routinely provide these services for mine infrastructure facilities, including:
Soil Testing and Research
GLA has specialized geotechnical laboratory testing capabilities to assist in facility design through construction of the heap leach facility. Specific laboratory testing capabilities include:
Heap leach injection services, also known as Enhanced Metal Recovery (EMR), is a process that GLA uses to help mining clients access previously unrecoverable gold, silver, and copper, that has added millions of dollars to their bottom lines by recovering thousands of additional ounces of ore.
Key Benefits:
Read more about this heap leach injection process and GLA’s Enhanced Metal Recovery expertise.
Environmental scientists at GLA regularly work with federal agencies and subcontractors to prepare and manage mine environmental assessments. Our environmental scientists have experience in performing:
GLA has written numerous tentative plans for permanent closure, final permanent closure plans, and final closure reports. Our team has helped mining facilities optimize closure bonding cost estimates. We work with clients to gain an understanding of reclamation intentions and develop successful stabilization and revegetation programs. We have experience preparing all of the documents necessary to close mining operations pursuant to current regulations. We can assist with closure and post-closure design and monitoring, including determining goals and detailed methodology of activities necessary to achieve a level of stabilization of all known and potential contaminants.
GLA develops reclamation programs consistent with intended post-closure land use. Our cover design methods include evaporation cells, evapotranspirative (ET) covers, and resistive barrier covers. To develop successful revegetation programs, we provide germination and plant uptake studies that assess the ability for native plant species to establish in the proposed growth medium (e.g., ore, waste rock, or alluvium) in conjunction with reclamation drainage design and erosion control.
Closure and reclamation services include:
Evapotranspirative (ET) Soil Cover Closure Caps
GLA’s ET Soil cover closure cap services include:
Facility Closure Design/Site Stabilization
GLA has written numerous tentative plans for permanent closure, final permanent closure plans, and final closure reports. We can assist with closure and post-closure design and monitoring, including determining goals and detailed methodology of activities necessary to achieve a level of stabilization of all known and potential contaminants.
We are knowledgeable of closure and stabilization requirements pertaining to process and non-process components (e.g., solid and liquid process mine wastes), heap leach pads, tailings impoundments, pits, waste rock storage facilities, ore stockpiles, and other associated components that could potentially lead to degradation of waters of the state.
Closure components and major elements of site stabilization may include reshaping and regrading, covering, placing of growth medium, and applying soil amendments. We perform germination studies to assess the ability for native plant species to establish in the proposed growth medium (e.g., ore, waste rock, or alluvium), develop revegetation plans, and study plant uptake.
GLA’s facility closure design services include:
Site Visualization and Analysis
Our illustrations, 3D models, and animations range from conceptual renderings to data-driven visual interpretations. Using geographic information system (GIS) and 3D geological modeling software, we create coherent and comprehensive interpretations of surface and subsurface conditions, including visualizations of ore bodies, contaminant plumes, water levels, wells, borings, and block models.
ESRI’s ArcMap and ArcView software and its various extensions (e.g., 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Image Analysis, and Tracking Analyst) are used for visualization and analysis of project data. For one mining client, we developed a custom coordinate transformation package to plug into the mine’s GIS, which allows efficient conversion between local mine coordinates and any other real-world coordinate system.
Feasibility studies are required throughout the pre-production stage of every mining project. Through analysis, assessment, and cost evaluation, we develop comprehensive solutions, including development of alternatives throughout the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), and Feasibility Study (FS) feasibility stages. GLA will give you the highest confidence in the underlying value of your mining project. GLA is able to work directly with the mining client, or as technical subconsultants through many Process Engineering and engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) companies.
Over the past 25 years, GLA has worked in many of the world’s mining districts and have the experience and expertise to help with conceptual studies in varied environmental, geologic, and economic climates.
From early conceptual PEA level studies, through alternative based PFS, and more detailed FS efforts, GLA provides cost-effective alternative designs for the following mine process and infrastructure projects:
GLA’s geotechnical engineers have prepared designs, performed life of mine studies, and conducted due diligence and third-party reviews for mine heap leach pads and ponds and tailings dams in some of the most highly seismic regions of the world as well as in areas with complex soil conditions. Our experience spans a variety of heap leach pad designs, including:
Heap Leach Engineering
GLA provides geologic investigations, geohydrologic investigations, construction material source identification, seismic hazard studies, geo-hazards studies, preliminary and final design, permitting assistance, report preparation, development to technical specifications and CQA. Related services include:
Pond Design
GLA has experience designing single and double-lined ponds for various heap leaching applications, including:
Tailings Impoundments
GLA provides planning, site assistance, conceptual, feasibility, through detail design for a variety of tailings storage facilities, constructed in difficult terrain, with challenging climatic and environmental conditions. Our engineers are leaders in the development of alternative tailings technologies for both surface and underground storage applications. GLA applies these technologies to a wide range of projects in response to unique challenges presented by climatic, topographic, geochemical, or material properties.
GLA is experienced with evaluating, designing, and optimizing the following types of tailings storage facilities:
Our extensive tailings services include:
Since the late 1980s, GLA’s professionals have provided geotechnical and earthquake engineering services for a wide range of projects across the United States and overseas. GLA’s geotechnical engineers have designed facilities in some of the most highly seismic regions of the world as well as areas with complex soil conditions.
Understanding a site’s ground and surface water is an essential component of all mining projects and operations that require a reliable water supply for mineral processing and other mining operations, dewatering and depressurization of mine workings and pit slopes, management of water use to achieve a more neutral water balance, diversion of surface water around mine facilities and control of extreme precipitation events, and design of environmental controls.
Our hydrogeologic and hydrologic services for mining projects and operations include:
Mine water supply
Mine dewatering and depressurization
Mine water balances and management
Hydrogeologic site investigations
Numerical modeling
Environmental impact assessment support
Geochemical and water chemistry characterization and modeling,
GLA has experience navigating complex regulatory processes related to Water Pollution Control Permits, including minor and major modifications, Engineered Design Changes (EDC), reclamation permits and plan modifications, bonding, Standardized Reclamation Cost Estimator (SRCE), Heap Leach Draindown Estimator (HLDE), Process Fluids Cost Estimator (PFCE), Plans of Operations, baseline study management, environmental assessments, and geochemical evaluations.
We work with regulators to help clients navigate the process for the following permits: