Newcrest Mining – Lihir, Papua New Guinea

Head Office: Lihir, Papua New Guinea

Melbourne, Australia

Industry:

Mining 

Company Size:

19,000 employees and contractors (Worldwide) 

The gold deposit at Lihir is within the Luise Caldera, an extinct volcanic crater that is geothermally active, and is one of the largest known gold deposits in the world. Most of the ore is refractory and is treated using pressure oxidation before the gold is recovered by a conventional leach process. Lihir produces gold doré.

Scope of work:

Ecosafe were engaged by the Lihir site to undertake a comprehensive legionella risk assessment and develop a legionella risk management plan for the Lihir operations. This included assessment of the water supply and distribution systems and legionella risks associated with evaporative cooling tower systems, vehicle wash systems, emergency showers, fire water systems, domestic hot water systems, domestic showers and other domestic/drinking water outlets. The project commenced with a site visit which included inspection and assessment of assets, water quality sampling and testing, provision of a legionella / general potable water quality awareness training, and conducting a risk assessment workshop to discuss the draft HACCP Risk Register, confirm the system process flow diagram, critical control points and critical control limits. Building upon the information gained from the site visit, a detailed Water Quality Risk Management Plan for the Lihir site

Project outcome:

The Water Quality Risk Management Plan including HACCP Risk Register provides guidance for the Lihir site regarding all aspects of legionella management to guide improvements and ongoing management strategies which can be implemented on site to ensure that water is used safety and the risks from legionella are minimised.