Olympic Dam’s Smelter Campaign Maintenance was a major part of BHP Billiton’s Brownfield Expansion project (BFX), which aimed to secure future growth for their South Australian mining assets. On this campaign, Nettlefold Projects was employed in the capacity of Electrical & Instrumentation Commissioning Engineer, responsible for managing the commissioning activities for their fully integrated minerals processing facility (copper, silver, uranium).

The full scope of the project included the replacement of the facility’s Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP), control rooms, filter press, and a full furnace rebuild. This involved the pre-commissioning, commissioning, and start-up of key utilities, as well as the comprehensive inspection of all electrical works for quality control and compliance. Nettlefold Projects managed the procurement and budget of this Campaign across multiple teams, delivering a faultless product that was monitored for consistency from start to finish.

Key Responsibilities

• Management of multi-disciplinary teams
• Procurement and budget management
• Inspection of electrical works for site, state, and Australian standards
• Pre-commissioning, commissioning, and start-up of VVVF Drives, Instruments, Motors, protection relays, transformers, substations, and associated utilities
• Pre-commissioning and commissioning tests w/associated quality documentation
• Pressure testing, purging pipelines, and condition monitoring
• Production of ‘as commissioned’ drawings
• Complete management of punch list items
• Inspection Test Records (ITRs) & assurance certification
• Ensure compliance with Australian standards and BHP policy