Identify: Exploration
Tetra Tech provides efficient, cost-effective solutions for the mineral exploration phase of the complete mine life cycle.
Tetra Tech provides mining consulting for early stage mineral resource exploration at new greenfield sites, open cut and underground, mine expansion, and reopening of brownfield mines. Our dedicated mining geologists, environmental scientists, metallurgists, and engineers offer a range of services to support prospecting and mine exploration in identifying the mineral and ore resources and reserves. We provide socio-economic support for acquiring new properties to ensure compliance with Equator Principles, relevant in-country and international standards, and industry best practice.
Capabilities
Acquisition Due Diligence
Tetra Tech’s scientists, geologists, metallurgists, and mining engineers support acquisition due diligence to ascertain the status of operations, environmental protection measures, discharge of toxic or hazardous materials or wastes, and implementation of required best management practices for pollution prevention.
Our due diligence reporting prior to finance closure can include the following:
- Resource and reserve evaluation
- Evaluation of mine plans and mining methods and operations
- Process evaluation, maintenance assessment, and equipment condition assessments
- Project categorization in accordance with Equator Principles
- Socio-environmental characterization of site before project development
- List of permits required including local, state, regional, aboriginal, and national
- List of potential socio-environmental impacts, including proposed mitigating measures
- Impact of global warming with significant emission of greenhouse gases
- Efficiency of energy use and opportunities for technology improvements
- Evaluation of closure and reclamation plan
- Review of all public consultations and stakeholder engagements
- Summary of community concerns
- Risk assessment
- Monitoring programs
- Best practices compliance gap analysis
Scoping Studies
Tetra Tech performs technical and economic studies including mine engineering, capital and operating cost estimates, mine production forecasting, and projected cash flows to support preliminary assessments or scoping studies for greenfield or brownfield projects. Our expertise encompasses conceptual evaluation of production alternatives, scoping and feasibility studies, and detailed engineering. All services meet standards required by the Toronto Stock Exchange’s National Instrument (NI) 43-101 regulations, the Australian Stock Exchange’s Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code, the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) Rules, the South African Minerals Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC), and other reporting standards.
Resource Evaluations
Tetra Tech supports early stage mineral exploration and project development in the discovery, delineation, and expansion of new greenfield discoveries and existing brownfield sites. Our team collects information from soils, rocks, and water to inform target delineation, project evaluation, mineral resource estimation, and preliminary mine planning. We administer and manage mineral tenements and exploration-related permit applications through a proprietary, web-based GIS application.
Tetra Tech supports resource evaluations to develop probable mineral reserves and proved mineral reserves with exploration geology, geologic modeling, mine planning and scheduling, process engineering, capital and operating cost estimation, financial due diligence and independent engineer services, feasibility studies, securities certification reports, and mine permitting and closure services.
We use sophisticated, mining-specific software to accurately estimate and portray the mineral deposit and subsequent mine plans of virtually any possible mining scenario. This technology supports both open cut and underground mining methods for commodity-based mining, from precious and base metals to industrial minerals, coal, iron ore, diamonds, and energy minerals.
Health and Safety Commitment
Tetra Tech is a leader in safety performance, consistently applying health and safety practices to all projects around the world. This commitment to safety excellence extends across the entire organization—from corporate leadership to local project staff. Clients have direct access to our program information and ratings through BROWZ and ISNetworld.
Environmental and Social Responsibility
Tetra Tech helps mining companies build and maintain relationships with communities and local governments. We offer expertise to support corporate social responsibility and environmental programs, as well as adherence to the Equator Principles for determining, assessing, and managing social and environmental risks and the associated reporting requirement for funding emerging mine projects and significant mine expansions.
