303-384-2690 Learn@mines.edu

July 14 – 17, 2025
Golden, Colorado USA

The program runs from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. Breaks are scheduled in the morning and afternoon, and a continental breakfast is available each day before class. All attendees must check in at the Registration Desk on the first day of the program. Check-in opens at 7:30 AM.

Day 1

  • Course IntroductionCourse objective – to take participants through the project management process, from defined mineral resource to operating property. Class Tools – Project Management for Mining book; Notebook of Information
  • Building the FoundationUnderscores the prerequisites for a successful project start; i.e., ethics, governance, and a management buy-in/approval process
  • Studies and their PurposesStarts with a comparison of the differing work efforts for the separate project studies, leading to a rationale for each study, from scoping evaluation to feasibility, emphasizing the real function of each study
  • Societal Acceptance and Risk ManagementStresses the need for community and regulatory approval and the identification, management and mitigation of risk

Day 2

  • Scope Definition DriversClarifies usage of the various levels of schedule and the differing classifications of budget. This module also covers how to derive contingency and why the project focus should always be construction driven
  • Project Execution Plan (PEP)Discusses the important role of the PEP and how it needs to be developed in conjunction with the studies
  • Project SetupPresents the organization of the project and the project team, along with selection of the project delivery entity and the service provider(s)
  • ExecutionIntroduces the kickoff process (and its relevance to other project stages), followed by a discourse of the key project facets that need to be handled in each of the engineering, procurement and construction phases

Day 3

  • ControlsHighlights the absolute necessity for project controls, including reports, progress reviews, QA/QC protocols, and document handling
  • Operations ReadinessDepicts the activities that need to timely happen during project execution for development of operational capability by turnover point
  • Project CompletionExplains the components of precommissioning, commissioning, start-up and ramp-up that allow the project to smoothly hand over the constructed facilities to Operations. Clarifies the “completion” definition.
  • Project CloseoutSets out the turnover and closeout activities (including lessons learned) that permit project team demobilization. Discussion of project pitfalls.
  • Course Wrap-upCloses out the course. Utilizes an open discussion of real mining project case studies to facilitate participant debate and course reflection.