Mining and Minerals SOQ

Mining and Minerals Processing Statement of Qualifications

SECTION

Introduction to Hill International, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Relevant Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Project Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mining and Minerals ProcessingStatement of Qualifications

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Page | 1Mining and Minerals Statement of Qualifications

Serv

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Program Management

Project Management

Construction Management

Project Management Oversight

Troubled Project Turnaround

Staff Augmentation

Project Labor Agreements

Labor Compliance Management(MyLCM®)

Management Consulting

Commissioning

Estimating and Cost Management

Project Management Services

Claims Consulting

Litigation Support

Expert Witness Testimony

Cost and Damages Assessment

Delay and Disruption Analysis

Adjudication

Lender Advisory

Risk Management

Forensic Accounting

Fraud Investigation

Project Neutral®

Construction Claimsand Consulting Services

Page | 1

Firm OverviewHill International, Inc. (Hill) is a leading international construction consulting firm that provides program and project management, construction management, cost engineering and estimating, quality assurance, inspection, scheduling, claims

analysis, innovative dispute resolution and staff augmentation services to clients involved in major construction projects worldwide. Hill has the expertise and experience to manage major projects from concept to successful completion. We have participated in over 10,000 project assignments with a total construction value of over $500 billion. Hill is ranked as the 9th largest construction management firm in the United States according to Engineering News-Record magazine, and we are the largest pure construction management firm in the country. Hill is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Hill is also an international leader in construction claims management, considered to be the largest construction claims firm in the world. Founded in 1976 as a multi-disciplined management consulting firm that helps construction participants minimize risks, Hill has developed a reputation for our innovative approaches to preventing and resolving construction schedule and cost overruns. We offer public and private clients a full spectrum of construction-related services that enable them to complete construction on time and within budget while minimizing claims and other problems. Our Construction Claims and Consulting Group has participated in over 50,000 disputes valued in excess of $100 billion.

Organizational StructureHill is structured along two primary business lines: the Project Management Group and the Construction Claims Group. The two business lines are further organized geographically, with worldwide headquarters in Marlton, New Jersey.

PersonnelHill employs more than 4,300 professionals and support personnel in 100 offices in 35 countries. Our staff includes architects, engineers in all construction and building-related disciplines, planners, schedulers, estimators, value engineering specialists, construction managers worldwide, resident

Introduction to Firm


Professional Staff by DisciplineAccounting 79Administration 626Architects 202Chemical Engineer 6Civil Engineers 307Claims Analysts/Attorneys 230Communication Engineer 33Computer Specialists 95Construction Inspectors 189Construction Managers 214Contract Administrators 148Electrical Engineers 107Environmental Engineers 24Estimators 191Interior Designers 14Landscape Architects 15Mechanical Engineers 129Planners: Urban/Regional 12Procurement 19Project Controls 49Project Managers 486QA/QC 71Safety Engineers 22Schedulers 137Structural Engineers 44Surveyors 81Technician 111Transportation Engineers 9Other 657TOTAL 4,307

engineers, construction inspectors and a full range of technical and support staff to represent owners. The table on the right provides a breakdown of our professional staff by discipline.

Hill will manage the project from our San Francisco, California office. Currently, there are approximately 200 professional employees available in the West Coast

SustainabilityHill views sustainability as an inherent and pervasive component of the building process. We have successfully managed an extensive list of LEED projects certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, ranging from Certified to Platinum. Our expertise provides us the ability to quickly surmise a project’s potential, as well as navigate and assist less experienced design and construction teams through the process, eliminating the learning curve and reducing incremental costs. Our initial cost estimating removes the guess work, providing you with a solid foundation for decision making on whether or not you choose to pursue certification.

Worldwide Office LocationsU.S. and CanadaMarlton, NJ (Headquarters)Albuquerque, NMAtlanta, GAAustin, TXBaltimore, MDBensalem, PABoston, MABroadview Heights, OHColumbus, OHFresno, CAGranite Bay, CAHartford, CTHouston, TXIrvine, CAIrving, TXJacksonville, FLLas Vegas, NVLemont Furnace, PALos Angeles, CAMiami, FL Montgomeryville, PANew Orleans, LANew York, NYOntario, CAOrlando, FLPalm Beach Gardens, FLPerrysburg, OHPhiladelphia, PAPhoenix, AZPittsburgh, PAProvidence, RISan Diego, CASan Francisco, CASeattle, WASpokane, WATampa, FLToronto, CanadaWashington, DC

AfricaAlgiers, AfricaCairo, EgyptCape Town, South AfricaCasablanca, MoroccoJohannesburg, South AfricaTripoli, Libya

Latin AmericaBogota, ColombiaMexico City, MexicoRio de Janeiro, BrazilSantiago, ChileSao Paulo, BrazilTrinidad and Tobago

EuropeAmsterdam, NetherlandsAnkara, TurkeyAthens, GreeceBaku, AzerbaijanBarcelona, SpainBelgrade, SerbiaBirmingham, UKBristol, UKBucharest, RomaniaDaresbury, UKDusseldorf, GermanyEdinburgh, ScotlandInstanbul, TurkeyLondon, UK Madrid, SpainMontreal, FranceMunich, GermanyPristina, KosovoRiga, LatviaTeesside, UKWarsaw, Poland

Middle EastAbu Dhabi, UAEAqaba, JordanDoha, Qatar (2)Dubai, UAE (2)Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKabul, AfghanistanManama, BahrainMuscat, OmanRiyadh, Saudi ArabiaSharq, Kuwait

AustraliaBrisbanePerthSydney

AsiaBeijing, ChinaDanang City, VietnamGurgaon, IndiaHong Kong, ChinaHo Chi Min City, VietnamKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaManila, PhilippinesShanghai, China


ServicesProject Management

Hill has developed its project management approach based on extensive Project Management assignments and claims experience, which gives us a unique and in-depth understanding of what can go wrong on a project. We use this knowledge to identify potential trouble spots on a project before they develop into problems and to recommend or initiate preventive action through strategic planning and controls. We vigilantly watch over all aspects of a project, from design review and long-lead items through schedule and budget updates and inspection during construction. As Project/Construction Manager or Owner’s Representatives, Hill has managed all phases of the construction process from pre-design through completion, including cost/budget controls, scheduling, estimating, expediting, contract administration, inspections and control of contractors and suppliers.

Project Controls

Hill provides state of the art project controls systems as part of our project management services. Our systems incorporate schedules, budgets and contract administration meeting the needs of today’s clients for successful control of and timely, accurate information on cash flow needs, costs, schedules, changes, progress (status), claims, material, equipment and labor. Hill provides state-of-the-art project controls using software customized to meet client needs.

We have worked extensively with performance measurement techniques to manage project schedules. Our computerized system helps monitor schedule and cost information by keeping track of thousands of activities and flagging those requiring management attention. Hill’s nationally known experts in CPM scheduling can analyze contractors’ project schedules, advise management of the accuracy of these schedules and present effective assessments and recommendations, thereby minimizing potential problems.

Hill provides estimating services in order to provide a basis from which to award bids and to forecast and manage total capital cost. Contract administration is an important function that supports the project through change order management control resulting in minimal claims costs for the project.

Cost Estimating

Hill has successfully prepared cost estimates on projects ranging from thousands to billions of dollars. Our estimates support planning, design, construction, renovation, operations and maintenance, change order negotiations and claims support. We assure accurate estimates of construction costs through the involvement of the client and the architectural and engineering staff.

We develop budgetary and detailed cost estimates in accordance with our client’s standards. We solicit vendor quotes, where appropriate, and obtain local material costs from suppliers in the vicinity of the project. Hill derives labor productivity rates from project experience and history. Using a combination of the MC2 estimating program with On Center Take Off, Hill maintains RS Means Cost Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Micro Computer-Aided Cost Engineering Program as estimating systems/software.


Hill’s Estimating and Cost Management Services include: • Master budget planning. • Conceptual budget estimates. • Estimates at 60%, 95% & 100% CDs. • Project work schedules.• Constructability reviews.

• Value engineering. • Change orders administration. • Long lead items identification and

documentation. • Information control systems.

Scheduling

Hill has an expert team of professionals with in-depth industry experience to evaluate project and program schedules to identify all possible pitfalls in scope, logic, sequence and duration. Their evaluation helps clients sort out critical vs. non critical activities, evaluate resource loading and perform “What If” and “Time-Window Based” analyses. Hill’s experts define our best practices by utilizing the most sophisticated methods for establishing and evaluating schedule conflicts, analyzing delays/acceleration, conducting productivity analysis, auditing costs and determining damages.

Construction Management

Successful construction management (CM) demands a detail-diligent approach, proactively managed by professionals who have the experience, skills and technical support each project demands. Hill’s professionals are not only credentialed; they have hands-on experience in the construction industry. This experience, gained in the trenches of construction projects across the country, gives our project teams the practical knowledge they need to effectively manage virtually any type of capital project. Hill’s CM teams include construction managers, resident engineers, construction superintendents, estimators, schedulers, inspectors, contract administrators and construction claims avoidance experts.

Program Management

Hill’s comprehensive program management services help clients keep multiple, interrelated projects in-sync, on-time and within budget. We help owners, financial institutions, sureties and others reduce the uncertainty and risk in their capital programs. Hill’s managers review every detail of all projects; set-up objectives, plans, and priorities, manage and control the process; and identify and resolve problems. Our experienced professionals and technical resources work with the client to define, plan, implement and integrate every aspect of each project. When managing an entire multi-disciplinary program, our service improves timing, cost and quality. Our client benefits from a single point of management responsibility for planning, design management, permitting compliance, construction management and ongoing operations services.

Project Management Oversight

Our project management oversight (PMO) services support project success by independently anticipating problems, identifying setbacks and recommending solutions in every project phase. This is the essence of PMO: to give clients objective information, allowing them to make prudent decisions about key issues before major problems occur.


Hill’s PMO teams provide timely and objective reporting, from evaluating the performance of the construction manager, designer and contractors, to monitoring schedules, analyzing costs and identifying and managing project risks. Teams include specialists in all phases of construction, so that the myriad events that occur on a project can be assessed and evaluated in a timely way by the right expert. Because Hill’s staff includes experts who are leaders in their disciplines, our clients benefit from strong recommendations that are both technically and financially sound.

Claims Consulting

Even the most carefully planned construction project can encounter claims. How those claims are handled, however, can make a difference in the success of the project. Hill’s approach to claims resolution is broad-based and relies on the participation of Hill’s multi-disciplined staff of engineers, architects, attorneys, contract administrators, construction managers, accountants and scheduling specialists. Such a range of expertise is essential in analyzing the often complex liability, causation and damage components of a claim. Hill’s technical and contract experts conduct a detailed analysis of the claims, break them down event-by-event and issue-by-issue, to help facilitate resolution. By reviewing and analyzing all relevant project documents and performance data, our team can help get to the root of any dispute.

Staff Augmentation

Not all of today’s organizations have the internal resources to handle every type of assignment. Hill’s experienced project managers, construction managers, engineers, architects, designers, schedulers, financial analysts, contract administrators and other professionals are available at a moments notice to staff virtually any type of project at any phase. Hill’s staff augmentation teams are developed based upon the unique needs of each individual assignment and are available for durations that range from days to years. Our professionals take a results-driven yet cooperative approach to meeting our clients’ goals; this two-pronged methodology effectively complements existing permanent staff throughout the globe.

Summary

The combined resources of the Hill staff allows us to provide such services as project management, project controls, engineering, design, construction management and claims management to major commercial and industrial, federal, state and local government clients. Hill provides a level of expertise not available elsewhere, and can offer clients the professional consulting services necessary to successfully manage all aspects of capital projects, from inception through close-out and occupancy.

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Hill offers construction consulting services to support full life-cycle capabilities to mining and minerals processing facilities worldwide, including locations in South America, Canada, Australia, Madagascar, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Korea, Ireland, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Zambia, Yemen and the United States.

As a global leader in providing program, project and construction management services to clientele across the mining processing and exploration industry, Hill’s services are designed to enhance functionality, extend sustainability, and accommodate emerging technologies. To accomplish this, Hill draws from an interdisciplinary pool of seasoned professionals and experts from around the globe with a deep breadth of experience in the mining, mineral processing, oil and gas, power, petrochemical, manufacturing and heavy industrial industries. Our experience offers unmatched technical expertise paired with a solutions-based mentality, resulting in professional, cost-effective and high-quality management services tailored to fit the complexities of any mining or mineral processing project. Our capabilities are suited to provide professional services to a number of market segments, including precious, rare earth and base metals processing

With an array of projects in the mining and minerals processing industry to our name, Hill has provided services to several leaders in the industry, including Freeport McMoRan, Sherritt International, Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation, Lynas Corporation, Jabal Salab Company, DeBeers Canada, Vale Inco (now Vale), Anaconda Mining, Inc. and SMS Siemag/Thyssen Krupp as well as dozens of other closely-related complex industrial processing and heavy industrial projects in the chemical, oil and gas, power and pharmaceutical sectors.

In addition to our mining and mineral processing construction consulting services, Hill is the international leader in construction claims. As a multi-disciplined management consulting firm helping construction participants minimize risks, Hill has developed a reputation for our innovative approaches and has provided claims services for various projects in the mining and mineral processing sector for clients such as Sherritt International, Anaconda Mining, Inc. and Queensland Aluminum, Ltd. Since 1976, Hill has helped our clients resolve more than 50,000 claims and disputes valued at more than $100 billion.

Relevant Experience

Select Project List

Client Name Project Name Project Location

Aggregate Industries Molycorp Mine Primm, CA

AK Steel Waste Coal Tunnel Project WV

ALSTOM Power Energy Recovery (USA) (Formerly American Schack Co. Inc.)

International Tubular Products, Inc. Facility VA

American Steel and Metals Manufacturing Facility NJ

Anaconda Nickel Ltd. Murrin Murrin Hydromet Processing Facility Western Australia

Arabian International Company for Steel Structures

Hadeed Steel Plant Expansion Projects Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Aughnish Alumina Ltd. Aughinish Alumina Refinery Aughinish Island, Ireland

Bechtel Corporation Suncor Primary Extraction Plant Alberta, Canada

Bennett and Wright SaskFerco Products Inc. Fertilizer Plant Saskatchewan, Canada

Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH Steel Pipe and Tube Rolling and Finishing Mill

Shreveport, LA

BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Xstrata Coal Joint Venture

Cerrejón Coal Mining Expansion Colombia

Bragg-Crane & Rigging Co. Portland Cement Plant Mojave, CA

Canadian Natural Resources Limited Horizon Oil Sands Mining Project Alberta, Canada

Chemetics Inc. Mine and Process Facility Peru

Confidential Iron Ore Processing Plant Iraq

Confidential Iron Foundry Poland

Confidential Nickel/Cobalt Mine and Related Process Facility Africa

Confidential Nickel/Cobalt/Copper Processing Plant Newfoundland, Canada

DeBeers Canada Victor Diamond Mine Northern Ontario, Canada

Essroc Cement Corporation Cement Plant of Martinsburg Martinsburg, WV

Freeport McMoRan Copper Mining Project Morenci and Bagdad, AZ

Garco Construction Buckhorn Gold Mine Buckhorn Mountain, WA

Grand Aur Grand Aur, Tawiain Cement Plant Project Fujairah, UAE

Halla Engineering & Heavy Industry Bishah Cement Plant Seoul, Korea

Holcim, U.S., Inc. Lee’s Island Concrete Plant St. Genevieve, MS, USA


Holcim, U.S., Inc. St. Genevieve Cement Plant Missouri

Hunton & Williams Siam Cement Plant Rayong, Thailand

Inmet Mining/Minera Panama Cobre Panama Copper/Gold Mining Project Panama

Jabal Salab Company Zinc Oxide Refinery Sana’a, Yemen

Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation Bingham Canyon Mine Copper Tailings Modernization Project

Magna, UT

KGHM Ajax Mining Inc. Ajax Open-Pit Copper-Gold Mine British Columbia, Canada

Latham & Watkins Selenium Treatment Plant Rodeo, CA

Lexington Insurance Company Australian Telfor Mine Project Australia

Lynas Corporation Ltd. Establishment Program Sydney, Australia

National Steel Corporation Electro Galvanizing Line Project PA

National Steel Corporation Great Lakes Steel Plant Detroit, MI

National Steel Corporation No. 2 Castro Project MI

National Steel Corporation Eastern Great Lakes Plant MI

Newmont Mining Corporation Newmont Processing Facility Utah

Norfolk Holdings Hail Creek Queensland, Australia

O’Donnell Griffin Queensland Aluminum Limited Stationary Calciners

NSW, Australia

Parlee McLaws Syncrude Petrochemical Plant Fort McMurray, Canada

Petro-Canada Fort Hills Oil Sands Project Northern Alberta, Canada

Praxair, Inc. Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works Air Separation Plants

Russia

Pullman Swindell Chisasa Integrated Steelworks Solwezi, Zambia

Pullman Swindell Iron Ore Processing Plant Khor Al Zubair, Iraq

Rainy River Resources, Ltd. Rainy River Gold Mining Project Ontario, Canada

REC Solar Grade Silicon LLC REC Polysilicon Plant Moses Lake, WA

Samwhan Corporation Tabuk Cement Plant Saudi Arabia

SCHÜTZ Container Systems Steel Processing Plant NJ

Shell Canada Athabasca Oil Sands Project Northern Alberta, Canada


Sherritt International Nickel Mining Project Madagascar

SMS Siemag/Thyssen Krupp Carbon Steel Processing Facility Mobile, AL

Swiss Re Lloyds of London Assignments Zurich

St. Lawrence Cement Greenport Cement Plant Greenport, NY

TMK Ipsco Steel Plate Rolling Facility IA

Vale Voisey’s Bay Mine Long Harbour Processing Plant

Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario

Vale Minerador da Derra dos Carajás Various Locations, Brazil

Vale SerraSul Project Para, Brazil

Vale Salobo Metais Para, Brazil

Vale Carnalita Project Sergipe, Brazil

Wilson, Elser, LLP CalEnergy Zinc Extraction Plant Salton Sea, CA

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Steel Mill PA

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Ajax Open-Pit Copper-Gold MineBritish Columbia, Canada

Client:KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.

Service:Document ReviewScheduling

Total Project Value:$800 Million

Completion Date:2012

The Ajax Project is a proposed, open-pit copper-gold mine located near Kamloops, British Columbia. Plans call for a 60,000-ton-per-day mine expected to produce 110 million pounds of copper and 100,000 ounces of gold annually. Mine life is estimated to be 23 years. The project would generate 1,000 construction jobs, 400 full-time jobs during operations, plus significant tax revenue, royalties and benefits for governments, local communities and First Nations, including the Tk’emlúps and Skeetchestn Indian Bands.

The proposed project is in the early stages of a rigorous environmental assessment process involving both federal and provincial government agencies. This process includes open public forums in which citizens can comment on various aspects of the mine plan. The construction phase is expected to start early in 2013. Copper production is anticipated early in 2015.

Hill is providing assistance and support for the EPCM contractor prequalification/Request for Qualification (RFQ) process, including finalization of the RFQ document(s) and long list of EPCM contractors to receive the RFQ. Hill will review the RFQ responses and selection of qualified and approved EPCM contractors to receive the RFP for EPCM services. We will also assist the finalization and submittal of the EPCM RFP and contract to qualified bidders and review proposals and recommend/select the awarded EPCM contractor. Additionally, Hill will provide schedule consulting services for the project.

Aughinish Alumina ProcurementAughinish Island, Ireland

Client:Aughnish Alumina Ltd

Service:Document Review

Total Project Value:$150,000

Hill provided strategic procurement advice and partnering facilitation services in order to procure substantial improvements in supply chain management. Hill defined objectives, reviewed and selected an appropriate route and partners for a £ 13 million per annum process plan maintenance and renewal program, including coaching personnel and developing an agreed selection process for framework partners. Hill also selected and advised on the contract and framework arrangements.

We provided strategic procurement advice and partnering facilitation services in order to procure substantial improvements in supply chain management. We defined objectives, reviewed and selected an appropriate route and partners for a £ 13 million per annum process plan maintenance and renewal program, including coaching personnel and developed an agreed selection process for framework partners. We also selected and advised on the contract and framework arrangements.

Bingham Canyon Mine Copper Tailings Modernization ProjectMagna, UT

Client:Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation

Service:Estimating


Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation owns and operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, an open-pit copper mine southwest of Salt Lake City. Over its operating history, the mine has yielded more than 12 million tons of copper metal. Approximately two-thirds of Utah’s annual mineral production is from the Bingham Canyon Mine.

As the second phase of the modernization program, Kennecott planned to improve concentrator capacity, as well as design and construct a new smelter and refinery facilities. As part of this modernization program, the Tailings Modernization Project is proposing to transition existing tailings storage operations to an area north of the existing impoundment (referred to as the North Expansion). The existing impoundment must now be modernized because historic tailings management practices have limited its operational storage capacity, and because recent studies have added new data to the understanding of seismologic conditions in the Salt Lake Valley.

Although the existing impoundment is stable under non-earthquake conditions, it must be upgraded to take seismicity into consideration. The proposed North Expansion is anticipated to consist of a 40,000-foot long embankment, which

Bingham Canyon Mine Copper Tailings Modernization Project

will provide approximately 3,300 acres of additional impoundment area. The proposed site will provide an upgrade to the northern segments of the existing embankment and new construction will require the relocation or removal of existing facilities, two Union Pacific Railroad mainline tracks, and utilities which include power, fiber optic, telephone, gas, and water lines that will cross the proposed expansion site.

During the phase II tailings modernization, Hill was responsible for managing contract negotiations supporting new construction for all contractor dealings. Hill was also responsible for managing the claims process, including investigating, providing technical analyses, determining outcomes, and making recommendations. In addition, Hill’s team managed cost estimating activities, as well as budgeting and scheduling activities for new construction projects.

Buckhorn MineBuckhorn Mountain, WA

Client:Garco Construction

Service:Project Controls



The Buckhorn Gold Mine has an estimated 100 million ounces of deposits and an estimated mine life of between seven and eight years. The facility is located in Okanogan and Ferry counties and is comprised of a combination of private property, lands belonging to the State of Washington, and partial lands in the Okanogan National Forest.

From 2009 onwards, Buckhorn Mine is expected to produce near 500 tons of ore and 1,500 tons of development rock per day. Proven and probable reserves equate to nearly two million tons.

The surface facilities at Buckhorn Mine will accomodate the undergound mining and transport of ore to temporary stockpiles at the surface. The mine includes 42.6 acres of new surface disturbance within a fenced area of 294 acres. The mine site layout includes three portals including a lower (main) portal at an elevation of 5,050 feet above mean sea level (amsl), an upper portal located at an elevation of 5,450 feet amsl, and a third portal (Gold Bowl) located near the main portal. The peak of Buckhorn Mountain is south of the mine portals at an elevation of 5,602 feet amsl.Key components of the mine site included mine portals; ventilation raises; underground

Buckhorn Mine

workings; mine ventilation equipment; office, shop, and change room facilities; substation; fuel storage and tank; explosives storage; development rock and temporary ore storage; backfill stockpile and batch plant; topsoil stockpiles; water tank/well; water treatment plant; storm water diversion, capture, and infiltration structures; security fencing; and parking.

Hill provided CPM scheduling for the multi-building, multi-portal operation project. The project was carried out on a fast-track basis and faced several challenges due to the site’s remote location and the sudden acceleration of the project to capitalize on rapidly rising ore prices. The project scope included a 600,000 CY excavation, a 38,000 LF HDPE pipe, multiple portal entrances, three structural steel buildings, four pre-engineered structures, mine water collection and treatment facilities, a 225,000 gallon domestic water tank, a process water system, concrete batch plant, and civil infrastructure.

Carbon Steel Processing FacilityMobile, AL

Client:SMS Siemag/Thyssen Krupp

Service:Construction Management

Hill has been providing construction management services to global equipment supplier, SMS Siemag (formerly SMS Demag), for ThyssenKrupp Steel’s multi-billion-dollar state-of-the-art carbon steel processing facility being built just outside of Mobile, Alabama.

The Hill project team is performing tasks on the project in a Construction Management role and is interacting with over 6,000 employees on the project.

Safety challenges include language barriers of over two dozen nationalities and safety cultures that have never seen OSHA requirements/standards. The Hill team has worked aggressively with our client, SMS Siemag, and their sister company, ISG, to ensure all project team members attend site-specific safety orientations and understand U.S. safety standards. The project team has done an outstanding job to ensure client personnel have met all project safety requirements.

There are also numerous scheduling challenges on the project. ThyssenKrupp is using an online version of P6 through Loadspring to allow each of the project participants to independently update their own portions of an integrated project schedule for each mill in the facility. The Hill team has assisted with the development of SMS Siemag’s logistics and commissioning portions of the schedule as well as the development of the overall integrated schedule. Hill staff are also responsible for the tracking in the schedule of nearly 100,000 metric tons of equipment deliveries from all over the world.

Carnalita ProjectSergipe, Brazil

Client:Vale

Service:Damage AssessmentReal Estate Negotiation


When finished, the Carnalita Project will represent the largest potassium extraction plant in Brazil. Our services were performed in three separate contracts, the last (number 2) is currently up and running. We have provided technical services in Maruim, Capela, Rosário do Catete, Carmópolis, Japaratuba, Santa Rosa de Lima, and Pirambu in Sergipe State.

Engineering S.A. (A Hill International Company), provided a multitude of services for the project. Work included:

• Physical and Legal Registration: Identification of properties identification and their respective owners, preparation of rural estate forms (physical and legal), and preparation of physical and legal registration

• Terms of Release Through negociation with Owners: obtaining authorization for access to properties under conditions (with notarization)/negociation of terms and values previously established for compensation of Direct Damages and Lost Profits, possibly caused by the activities of Land Seismic Acquisition and drilling of 10 wells.

• Damage Assessment and Preparation of Reports: supervise and guide work s closing line, ie, the buffering of holes caused by the detonation of explosives, repair fences, garbage collection;

• Rural properties negotiation

• Prepare Appraisal Report

Cerrejón Coal Mining ExpansionColombia

Client:BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Xstrata Coal Joint Venture

Service:SchedulingCost ControlProject Controls

Total Project Value:Confidential

Completion Date:Ongoing

Cerrejon is the world’s largest export open pit coal mining operation at 69,000 hectares and it is located in La Guajira state, in the north-eastern part of Colombia. Cerrejon’s open cut mines now represent one of the biggest earthmoving operations worldwide. Approximately one million tonnes of material are moved every day, 365 days per year.

Hill is providing scheduling, project controls and cost control services for the Cerrejón Coal project. The Cerrejón team tasked Hill to build a consistent schedule to establish a reliable tool to control the progress of the project. The new schedule, as well as other means and methods developed by Hill, gave the client greater control of the project, which will facilitate successful completion.

Chemetics Mine and Process FacilityPeru

Client:Chemetics Inc.

Service:Claims

This was a confidential matter involving a review and then delay analysis of the EPC contractor’s schedule to determine the liability for missing certain project milestones.

Hill also provided independent advice to Lloyds in respect of claims against a liquidated damages policy.

Cobre PanamaDonoso District, Colon Province, Panama

Client:Inmet Mining/Minera Panama, S.A.

Service:Cost Estimating and Scheduling

Total Project Value:$5 Billion


Cobre Panama is a greenfield project that consists of the development of a conventional open pit mine and concentrator to produce copper gold and molybdenum concentrate for the Owner. The concession covers an area of 136 square kilometers (km2) and is located in the Donoso District, Colon Province in north central Panama. Ore mined from open pits will be processed by crushing, grinding, flotation recovery and concentrate dewatering. The project design is based on an initial ore feed rate of 150,000 tons per day to the grinding plant. It is planned the ore feed rate will increase to 225,000 tons per day after year nine of operations; the increase in ore feed rate will require further capital investment to install a third grinding unit.

Copper concentrates will be delivered by slurry pipeline from the concentrator at the process plant to the filter plant at the port facility. After pressure filtration, the dewatered concentrate will be stored and subsequently loaded on to bulk concentrate vessels for delivery to international customers. The port facility and process plant will be linked by a road, buried pipelines for concentrate slurry, return filtrate, diesel fuel and an overland power transmission line. A coal fired power generation plant will be built at the port facility by an independent power producer.

As part of a team conducting a project readiness review during the FS stage, Hill provided a review of the project cost estimate and schedule. In addition, we are providing ongoing schedule management and schedule control services through detail design and into EPCM execution.

Confidential ProjectNewfoundland, Canada

Client:Confidential

Service:Claims Analysis


Hill is providing independent claims review services for the construction of a state-of-the-art processing plant in Newfoundland. The plant will process nickel-cobalt-copper concentrate using an innovative hydrometallurgical process.

DeBeers Victor MineNorthern Ontario, Canada

Client:DeBeers Canada

Service:Procurement Services


The Victor Mine is located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 90 km west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat First Nation. It is Ontario’s first diamond mine and the second in Canada for De Beers. The Victor Mine is an open-pit mine and is one of 18 kimberlite pipes discovered on the property, 16 of which are diamondiferous.

Hill established procurement models for the project, developed a target cost model, provided logistics support for construction, and provided contract administration support. Hill advised DeBeers and their Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor on a number of specific services lines as summarized below:

• Procurement strategy including the use of target cost forms of contract incorporating achievement milestones

• Seminars for the DeBeers contract administrators and schedulers

• Logistics services for marshalling of equipment/materials for railhead movement from Toronto to Moosonee and thereafter by ice-road to Attawapistkat (8 to 10 week season)

• Project monitoring of Level 4 schedule undertaken via site visits and office based electronic data transfers

• Resolution of a number of claim matters that arose concerning accelerated schedules and loss of productivities. These types of services were provided on an independent basis and were performed from historic schedule data.

• Off-risk services relating to determining when the construction/commissioning period ceased and when operations began.

Greenport Cement PlantGreenport, NY

Client:St. Lawrence Cement

Service:Project Labor Agreements/Studies



Hill provided project labor agreement consulting on this $320 million cement plant in Greenport, NY. The new state-of-the-art plant is being built to replace an existing plant in Catskill, NY.

Horizon Oil Sands Mining ProjectAlberta, Canada

Client:Canadian Natural Resources Limited

Service:Staff Augmentation

Total Project Value:$2 billion


Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) sanctioned the Horizon Oil Sands project in February 2005, with the first barrels of sweet synthetic crude oil produced in early 2009. Phase 1 of the project included a surface oil sands mining and bitumen extraction plant, complimented by on-site bitumen upgrading with associated infrastructure. Due to a massive resource base, the mine and plant facilities are expected to produce for decades to come without production declines normally associated with crude oil production.

A large amount of infrastructure capital was included in Phase 1 in anticipation of future phases, and CNRL is leveraging the benefits of existing infrastructure to expand operations. For the current expansion phase, Hill is providing staff augmentation services to provide contract administration personnel to CNRL. The contract administrators will support CNRL project teams with regard to contract and procurement while remaining in compliance with company policies and procedures. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• maintain relationships with internal stakeholders, suppliers and contractors

• develop strategies to obtain best values for goods and services

• prepare, develop and maintain contract documents

Horizon Oil Sands Mining Project

• receive and evaluate proposals

• conduct site meetings with contractors

• control and documentation of change orders

• prevent/resolve claims, change orders, and back charges

• manage approval process for contractor invoices and approve payments

• maintain and issue Contract Status Reports

Jabal Salab Zinc Oxide RefinerySana’a, Yemen

Client:Jabal Salab Company

Service:Contractual Advice & DraftingClaims Analysis

The Jabal Salab Company (Yemen) Limited is in partnership with ZincOx to build and operate a zinc extraction and processing plant in Yemen, 110km north east of Sana’a the capital. The project represents the largest base metal operation in the Arabian peninsula, the largest zinc chemical plant in the world, and one of the largest silver mines in the Middle East. It will be one of the world’s lowest cost zinc mining and processing operations and the first plant of its kind in Yemen. It is seen as a vital step in diversifying the Yemen economy. The Jabal plant treats 800,000 tons per year of ore with an average grade of 9.23% zinc for the initial production of 70,000 tpa zinc oxide with a grade of about 80% zinc. The project supports a fully integrated zinc oxide operation and mainly comprises an open pit mine (now fully developed) and a sophisticated processing facility. The Jabali process involves:

• Calcination of ore to break down carbonate and dolomite minerals

• Milling of calcined ore to enhance dissolution of zinc

• Dissolution of zinc from milled ore using AAC solution(2 stages)

• Filtration of zinc bearing liquour from leached pulp (residue) and purification of zinc liquour

• Precipitation of “basic zinc carbonate” by boiling off ammonia through steam injection

Jabal Salab Zinc Oxide Refinery

• Separation of basic zinc carbonate by filtration

• Production of zinc oxide by decomposition of basic zinc carbonate through calcinations.

Hill’s services for the project included evaluating the current contract and providing recommendations on delay mitigation and funding structure moving forward. This included an analysis of project procurement, reasons for delay, reasons for cost over run, risk register for the outstanding issues and delivery to completion including political, economic and project issues, and projected end date and budget for completion.

Lynas Corporation Establishment ProgramSydney, Australia

Client:Lynas Corporation Ltd.

Service:Program Establishment and Consulting



Lynas Corporation is a rare earths mining organization, with operations and production plants in Western Australia and Malaysia. In order to achieve operational start up in late 2009, Lynas is required to develop core capabilities to support its operations function.

Hill was appointed by Lynas Corporation as Program Managers to provide independent advice on program and project management approach, principals, application, and assurance. Hill’s approach to program and project identification was based on review of Lynas Corporation’s 2 year and 5 year Corporate Plans. The 2 year plan focussed primarily on operational start up which would put Lynas in to cash flow by October 2009. Capabilities to achieve these objectives were mapped, along with the programs and projects that were needed to develop these capabilities. The outputs from these projects will include:

• Fully integrated, sustainable and documented systems and procedures in order to support the new capabilities

• Fully trained and competent staff to support the new capabilities

• Continuous improvement tools to support the new capabilities

• New assets with operational readiness to support the new capabilities.

Hill was appointed by Lynas Corporation as Program Managers to provide independent advice on program and project management approach, principles, application and assurance. To date, the role has included program, project and sub project identification, as well as the production of a Program Management Manual.

Hill, together with Lynas Corporation achieved the following

• Identified and received executive sign off on all programs, projects and sub projects required to achieve operational start up

• Developed a preliminary schedule identifying logic, sequence and interdependencies between programs and projects

• Developed a Program Management Manual including worked examples for all major deliverables to be produced as part of the program of work.

• Identified resource requirements to deliver the program of works.

Lynas Corporation Establishment Program

Cement Plant of MartinsburgMartinsburg, WV

Client:Essroc CementCorporation

Services:Contract AdministrationClaims Analysis


The Martinsburg Cement Plant produces more than 2 million metric tons of cement per year. The contract administration services Hill provided comprised the implementation of processes, actions, controls and responses to events concerned with the proper, correct, timely and efficient administration of any and all contracts and/or subcontracts, issued by the client to any other third party in relation with the project. The scope is to ensure the client’s rights and entitlements under the same contracts and/or subcontract for the project are protected and secured. The project manager shall also carry out all required assistance to the client during the negotiation phase of any and all contracts and/or subcontracts still to be appointed by the client.

Minerador da Derra dos CarajásVarious Locations, Brazil

Client:Vale

Service:Mine SurveyingTopographical Surveying



Engineering S.A. (a Hill International Company) provided professional services for the the Complex of Minerador da Serra dos Carajás, the world s largest mine in the open air. The services were provided in the cities of Parauapebas-PA, Canaã dos Carajás-PA, Curionópolis-PA, and Marabá-PA in Brazil. The project is one of the largest in the region and brings several economic benefits to its surrounding community. It is estimated to hold 7.2 billion metric tons of iron ore and reserves. The project has also been found to be rich in ores for manganese, copper, tin, aluminum, and even gold. Services included:

• Surveying of pipeline mains and pipes• Surveying and renting of deforestation limits (vegetation removal)• Surveying of deposit of sterile material• Mine surveying, including registration of piezometers, wells, power

lines, poles, and towers of the mine and other notable structures for the purposes of short-term planning

• Surveying in quarry front (weekly, monthly) – topograph• Surveying of buffer pile and piles of the beneficiation plant at Carajás• Leasing and registration of boreholes• Leasing of piezometers and Wells (groundwater lowering)• Leasing of advance and gap of deposit• Leasing of advance and gap of quarry front

• Leasing of final pit• Leasing of ramps in quarry fronts and in the deposit of sterile material • Leasing and registration of topographic landmarks• Services of flatness of specific points• Services of polygons, coordinate transportation, water-tightness and sections• Surveying of drainage systems• Trail openings• Topographic surveying of detonation áreas in iron mines and others areas of Vale• Pile surveying and scaling

• Topographic surveying at Serra Leste and Serra Sulmaterial

• Leasing and registration of topographic landmarks

• Services of flatness of specific points

• Services of polygons, coordinate transportation, watertightness and sections

• Surveying of drainage systems

• Trail opening

• Topographic surveying of detonation áreas in Iron Mines and others areas of VALE

• Pile Surveying and scaling

• Topographic surveying at Serra Leste and Serra Sul:

Minerador da Derra dos Carajás

Molycorp MinePrimm, CA

Client:Aggregate Industries.

Service:CPM Scheduling



Hill is providing on call P6 scheduling services to the general contractor for the performance of underground through foundation work on 33 buildings at the Molycorp site at stateline Primm, California. Work started on the $531 million project to clear away much of the aging machinery used to process mined rock into rare earth powders. The project will replace antiquated machinery with new processing facilities that will result in lower operating costs and reduced water use. The new plant will produce rare earths powders that will have applications in products ranging from hybrid cars to cell phones and guided bombs.

Morenci Copper Mine & Mill Processing FacilityMorenci, AZ

Client:Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc

Service:Project ControlCost EstimatingPlanning and SchedulingRisk Analysis Staff Augmentation

Total Project Value:$1.9 Billion

Completion Date:OngoingOn behalf of Freeport-McMoRan, and under a Master Services Agreement

(MSA) and Supplemental Services Agreement, Hill International worked with the EPC contractor’s planning/scheduling and estimating team in providing an independent 3rd party review and assessment of the overall project schedule and cost estimate, as well as conduct a project risk analysis, at a critical stage to support the approval decision to fund and complete the project. The contractor’s overall project estimate was in excess of $2.3 billion. Hill’s detail review uncovered mistakes, inappropriate and incorrect assumptions and bases in the estimate. Corrective action was then taken and the project cost was re-estimated to be just over $1.9 billion, in excess of a 17% decrease. The project was approved and funded to complete based on this revised estimate.

Hill’s work with the contractor’s planning and scheduling team resulted in the project schedule being revised and updated to be more accurate and predictable. The schedule was cleaned up and revised in preparation of the risk analysis that we performed. Critical paths were changed for each building for the project. In addition, Hill International augmented Freeport-McMoRan’s project team to provide construction management, project control, cost estimating, cost management and control, contract administration and contract management services. We are currently providing staff augmentation services on an ongoing basis to support construction management, cost control and contract management.

Murrin MurrinWestern Australia

Client:Anaconda Nickel Ltd.

Service:Claims


The Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt project, 60km east of Leonora, was commissioned by Anaconda Nickel Ltd. Hill was retained by Syndicates at Lloyds of London to provide an independent opinion concerning the construction delays and efficacy issues arising from the design and construction of this hydrometallurgical (hydromet) processing facility.

Hill’s role was to conduct a retroactive review of the design/construction/commissioning process and to identify adverse trends that should have been made known to the Insurance Markets during the execution phase.

Lloyds had issued a construction delay liquidated damages policy together with an efficacy policy which in the event was the subject of a limit claim of A$150.0 million.

The matter was resolved in arbitration and is hence confidential but Hill’s contribution was accepted by all parties as being an independent review of the problems that arose.

Newmont Processing FacilityUtah

Client:Newmont Mining Corporation

Service:ClaimsHill was retained to provide an independent opinion concerning the effective

date of transition from construction to operations in respect of a major property loss that occurred to this process facility. Hill was required to provide an engineering opinion as to whether a Builders All Risk or Business Interruption insurance policy applied. Hill was also retained to provide an independent opinion of a number of trade claims resulting from prolongations matters. Hill undertook a retroactive delay analysis of the Level 4 construction schedules, to ascertain liabilities for delays.

Nickel/Cobalt Mine and Related Process FacilityAfrica

Client:Confidential

Service:Claims


Hill is operating under a strict confidentiality agreement on this assignment which prevents a complete disclosure of our role.

Hill was retained by a Canadian based international mining company to review the performance of their EPCM contactor on a $4 billion mine development and processing plant in Africa. The review comprises analysis of variances to the project budget and delays to the engineering, procurement and construction of the mine site, pipeline and process plant site

Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works Air Separation PlantsRussia

Client:Praxair, Inc.

Service:Staff Augmentation


Praxair Rus, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc., entered into a contract to supply oxygen, nitrogen and argon to NTMK, a division of the EVRAZ Group, a leading global steel company with its main steel production facilities in Russia. Praxair will build new, energy-efficient air separation plants and supply more than 3,000 tons per day of industrial gases to NTMK in Nizhniy Tagil, the center of the industrial region of Sverdlovsk in central Russia. The new plants are scheduled to start up in late 2013 and will replace older air separation plants and produce liquid products for the local market.

Hill International is performing staff augmentation services by providing a construction manager to oversee and manage the fabrication, installation and construction of Praxair’s Air Separation Unit (ASU) to supply oxygen to the client’s steel mill operation in Russia.

Petro-Canada Fort Hills Oil Sands ProjectNorthern Alberta, Canada

Client:Petro-Canada

Service:Claims


The Fort Hills project is an integrated oil sands project that includes a mine and bitumen extraction facility, situated 90 miles north of Fort McMurray in Alberta (Athabasca oil sands region), Canada. Fort Hills is one of the largest remaining undeveloped oil sands leases in the Athabasca region.

Hill performed what was termed a ‘sanity check’ on the Level 3 schedules for both the mine site and Upgrader processing facility, including a check on the productivity rates being applied by the EPC contractors for on-site activities in Northern Alberta, and if adverse to the start-up and commissioning milestones, recommendations for mitigation measures such as pre-fabrication for process systems. Hill was part of Petro-Canada’s team negotiating the EPC contracts and advice on milestone achievement payments for this $20 billion mine sites and process Upgrader project.

Hill undertook negotiations with potential EPC contractors for work on both the mine site and U&O facilities in preparation for issuing prime contracts. Hill performed set-up and control of contract administration procedures for EPC work packages; prepared contracts for tendering, review and administered commercial conditions, negotiated claims with contractors and conducted contractual management throughout.

The project is expected to come onstream in 2016.

Rainy River Gold Mining ProjectOntario, Canada

Client:Rainy River Resources, Ltd.

Service:Staff AugmentationConstruction ManagementConstructability ReviewOwner’s RepresentativeSchedule Review



The Rainy River Gold project is an advanced exploration stage project located in northwestern Ontario, near the Manitoba and U.S. borders. The project is defining an emerging Canadian Gold District, with solid infrastructure including year-round road access and power lines in close proximity, as well as a nearby railway. Rainy River Resources is pursuing environmental approvals for the development of an open pit and underground gold and silver mine on the property.

Rainy River Resources has completed over 578 km of drilling since 2004. At its peak last year, there were 13 drills operating at the site, making it one of the most active gold exploration projects in Canada.

Rainy River Resources proposes to construct, operate and eventually close a new open pit and underground gold mine on the property. The preliminary site layout proposes to place the required mine related facilities in close proximity to the open pit, to the extent practical, on privately held lands to which Rainy River Resources has access, or expects to have access. The major project components include:

• Open pit and underground mine

• Ore processing plant

Rainy River Gold Mining Project

• Overburden and rock stockpiles

• Tailings management area

• Support buildings (garage, warehouse, administration building and potentially accommodations complex)

• Infrastructure (access roads, pipelines, power infrastructure and transmission lines, fuel storage, explosives manufacturing and explosives storage)

• Water and waste management facilities (water management facilities and drainage works; domestic and industrial waste handling facilities)

Hill staff will augment the Rainy River Resources, Ltd. team during detailed design and engineering, procurement and construction project. Hill will also manage mill construction on site, and will be involved with preconstruction and constructability review s of design before going to the field. In addition, Hill conducted schedule review services as part of a team of consultants, providing project readiness reviews during detailed design.

Salobo MetaisPara, Brazil

Client:Vale

Service:Engineering and Review Analysis


Engineering S.A. (a Hill International Company), provided services to the Salobo Metais project. Located in the Serra dos Carajás district and municipality of Marabá – Pará (Brazil), the Salobo Project has the largest copper deposit ever discovered in Brazil. Its nominal capacity is 520 thousand tons of copper concentrate and 255 thousand tons of copper metal. Our detailed Engineering of Infrastructure services for the Copper Project 24 Mtpa included analysis, evaluation, review, optimization, completion, consolidation, formatting, specification, quantification, and technical support to Salobo Metais SA, SMSA in Mina do Pará. Technical documents generated include: design criteria, calculation, general specifications, executive projects, technical specifications, material data sheets, technical requests, memorials descriptive, and quantities control in the following disciplines: earthwork; geometric design of piles and cavas; road system for light and off-road vehicles; drainage; sewerage system and treatment plant; paving; pathways signaling; environmental protection; and landscaping of the road system Other areas covered by the project include:

• General” Infrastructure: internal road system, works support area;

• Mine: factory and storage of explosives, mine office, dressing rooms, canteen, sterile pile, buffer pile, temporary mineral pile, fuel storage, office, mine substation;

• Processing: primary cruching, mineral pile storage, crushing substation, conveyor belt for long distance, pressing, pressing substation, screen, control room, grinding, flotation and regrind, substation flotation, concentrate thickening, filtration and storage of concentrate.

• Utility systems: water supply and caption system, water treatment plant (ETA) and system for storage and treated water distribution, reclaimed water supply, caption and distribution, distribution and storage system for clean and fire water/seal. Prevention and firefighting system, colling water.

• Industrial Installation Support: central maintenance garage, tire repairs, warehouse, truck wash stand, heating shop, light vehicles shop, advanced plan workshop, flammable and lubricants storage, laboratory, industrial support substation, tires storage;

• Administrative Support Facilities: administrative offices/ training center, main entrance and parking for visitors/central asset security, bus station/general Office, medical center/occupational health/medical clinic, restaurant/banks, fire brigade and safety, gas station for light vehicles;

• Energy and Telecommunications: main substation, system for emergency power generation, telecommunications system, central radio;

• Waste System and Environmental Protection: launch system and waste distribution, sewage treatment plants, landfill for industrial waste, disposables center.

Salobo Metais

SaskFerco Products Inc. Saskatchewan, Canada

Client:Bennett and Wright

Service:Claims

SaskFerco is one of North America’s largest producers of two types of nitrogen fertilizer: granular urea and anhydrous ammonia. SaskFerco is the largest natural gas customer in Saskatchewan, requiring 25 billion cubic feet (BCF) annually to make the nitrogen fertilizer. It is unique in the global fertilizer industry because no wastewater from the facility is dumped into any river, lake, or stream. All SaskFerco wastewater is disposed of in an evaporation pond located within the 80-acre production site.

Hill acted for the former Bennett and Wright the mechanical subtrade on a fertilizer plant in Saskatchewan and prepared the claim to ICC arbitration standards and presented expert evidence in Geneva.

SerraSul ProjectPara, Brazil

Client:Vale

Service:SurveyingProperty AssessmentReal Estate Negotiation


Situated in Serra Sul of Carajá, Brazil, Mine S11D, has a total capacity of 90 million tons of iron ore per year. The project includes a mine, plant, stockyard, loadout station and 100 km of railway to connect to the existing system.

Engineering S.A. (a Hill International Company) performed a multitude of services in relation to the project, including:

• Registration of surveying of rural and urban real state – topographic survey (owner identification, descriptive history of the properties, identification of the General State Record – RGI)

• Registration and survey of property s condition

• Property Assessment (NBR 5676 – Urban Property Evaluation, NBR 8799 – Rural Property Evaluation, and NBR 8951 – Available Land Evaluation), and presentation of the values of the land and existing improvements, values should be determined by statistical inference

• Negotiation of Real State – planning for the negotiation (one for Mines/Industrial plants and another for Railroad), containing the criteria for negotiating the property and considering the maximum and minimum values of the evaluation; meeting with properties owners; performing legal analysis of the documentation; determining potential risks analysis of the purchase of properties; preparation of drafts of the purchase document; preparation of receipt of the property, drawing up terms of receiving and audit, and sending the corresponding report with photos; regulating the acquisition from the Registration Center of Real Estate (registration of the deed), INCRA (National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform), and Internal Revenue Service.

• Surveying Services with Geo-referencing – mapping of the properties (ABNT Standard), consisting of the correspondent registration, including a geo-referenced survey to the Brazilian Geodetic System; processing report of field data, both pre- and post-processed; supplying and fixing of standard landmarks (INCRA); performing a survey of improvements; obtaining consent of the owners (or occupants) about the property boundaries (confronters) and Descriptive Memorial in paper and electronic form.

• Land Regularization – regulate the properties acquired from INCRA and the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (issue of the ITR – Rural Property Tax) and to promote the necessary rectifications and records of the corresponding scriptures.

Serrasul Project

Shell Canada Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP)Northern Alberta, Canada

Client:Shell and Syndicates at Lloyds of London

Service:Independent Project Monitoring Claims

Total Project Value:C$5 Billion


The AOSP includes the MRM and JPM open pit bitumen mining operations located north of Fort McMurray, Alberta and the Scotford Upgrader, located near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, which upgrades bitumen into synthetic crude oil. Shell operates the mines and upgrader on behalf of the AOSP joint venture.

Hill was commissioned jointly by Shell and Syndicates at Lloyds of London to undertake an independent project monitoring role of the mine-site, power plant, pipelines, and Scotford Upgrade processing facility to facilitate timely completion. Lloyds had provided a special risk delay liquidated damage policy to a junior co-venturer (Western Oil Sands) at the insistence of Western’s project lenders. Shell and Lloyds required regular ‘real-time’ independent updates on the progress of the project and recommendation on mitigation measures should either the start-ups of the mine or the process Upgrader be in delay.

The overall project budget was C$5 billion which also included a pilot plant (<$180 million) used to test the new mine process for hydrocarbon separation.

Hill provided this independent review by means of schedule monitoring via on-site visits and desk-top reviews of progress reports supplied by the field Operator, Shell Canada.

Steel Pipe and Tube Rolling and Finishing MillShreveport, LA

Client:Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH

Service:Construction Management


Completion Date: 2015

Hill received a contract from Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH, a subsidiary of Benteler International AG, to provide construction management services in connection with a new $900 million steel pipe and tube manufacturing plant to be located in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The two-phase plant, which will include both a seamless steel tube mill (phase one) and a steel mill (phase two), will be built on 330 acres at the Port of Caddo-Bossier in Northwest Louisiana.

Swiss Re, Lloyds of London Zurich, Switzerland

Client:Swiss Re

Service:Claims

Hill has undertaken over 80 assignments for special risk insurance markets in respect of policies issued for delay liquidated damages (both final and sectional), performance or efficacy guarantees, force majeure events and fatal flaws in industrial processes.

In the first instance Hill undertakes a pre-binding risk review to assist Underwriters in formulating a premium plus exclusions to the policy.

Hill is then retained to monitor the progress of a project’s development by means of schedule reviews, site visits, and receipt of monthly progress reports, from the assured who is normally the EPCM contractor.

We are required to report adverse indicators and be part of the discussion on what mitigation measures are possible to contain or reverse the adverse trends. We have performed these types of project monitoring reviews on power plants, process facilities, wind farms, oil/gas installations, re-cycling plants, mine developments, hydro-dams, public assembly projects and commercial buildings.

Voisey’s Bay Mine Long Harbour Processing PlantNewfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Client:Vale Newfoundland & Labrador Limited (Vale NL)

Service:Independent Engineer


Hill is currently acting as the Independent Engineer on Vale’s new construction of a hydrometallurgical (hydromet) processing facility at Long Harbour, Placentia Bay. The plant will process nickel sulphide concentrate from Vale’s Voisey Bay Mine in Labrador.

The term of our Independent Engineer’s role is from April 2009 to February 2013.

Our involvement encompasses both the Port Wharf laydown areas and the Plant Site where the feed (concentrate) is pressure leached in acidic solution to separate iron and sulphur from nickel, copper and cobalt. The plant also includes solvent extraction building, electron-winning complex. WTP, Oxyplant, plus roads and utilities, at this remote site location in Newfoundland.

Hill is operating under a strict confidentiality agreement which prevents a complete disclosure of our role.

Documents

Mining and Minerals SOQ