Newmont Tanami Fuel Facilities
- Project: Tanami Fuel Facilities
- Client: Newmont Tanami Operations
- Sector: Mining & Resources
Fraser-Lever has supported Newmont Tanami Operations across a coordinated programme of diesel storage and refuelling projects at The Granites, Dead Bullock Soak and MLG Yard, progressing from early scope definition and investment support through to multidisciplinary detailed design and construction-ready documentation.
Project Overview
Newmont’s Tanami operations require reliable diesel storage and refuelling infrastructure to support mining activities in a remote operating environment.
Fraser-Lever supported a programme of upgrades across three fuel facilities, encompassing both existing brownfield infrastructure and new facilities. The work included storage tanks, unloading and dispensing systems, pumps and filtration, fuel transfer, piping, drainage, electrical supply, instrumentation, controls and fuel management systems.
The projects were developed to address ageing infrastructure, improve compliance and fuel quality, strengthen fuel storage resilience and improve inventory and transaction visibility. Maintaining fuel availability during staged works was particularly important given the site’s remote location and wet-season delivery constraints.
Fraser-Lever’s Role
Fraser-Lever acted as the multidisciplinary engineering service provider across successive fuel-farm packages, supporting the projects from early definition and investment planning through detailed engineering and construction-ready documentation.
The scope included:
- Project management and engineering coordination
- Feasibility, scope definition and investment support
- Process and mechanical engineering
- Piping design and hydraulic assessments
- Civil, concrete and structural engineering
- Electrical, instrumentation and controls engineering
- Tank, pump, filtration and valve specifications
- P&IDs, general arrangements and 3D modelling
- Piping layouts, isometrics and pipe supports
- Foundations, walkways and access
- Earthing and lightning protection
- MCC and instrumentation design
- Fuel Management System integration
- Safety in Design and risk reviews
- Cost estimating and scheduling
- Construction scopes and IFC-ready documentation
The team also coordinated vendor information and incorporated operations, maintenance and construction feedback throughout the design process.
The engineering challenge
Each facility presented a different engineering and operational challenge. At GTS, existing assets needed to be reused and relocated while unloading and dispensing remained available during tank replacement. DBS involved extensive interfaces within an operating bunded fuel facility, including multiple tanks and transfer paths together with new pumps, filtration, automated controls and fuel transaction tracking. MLG required a new facility integrating relocated and additional tanks with heavy and light vehicle movements, unloading, drainage, services and safety infrastructure.
Across the programme, Fraser-Lever needed to balance compliance, fuel quality and storage resilience with construction sequencing and operational continuity. Remote access, wet-season logistics and uncertainty within existing documentation added further complexity to the coordination of civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and controls engineering.
Engineering in practice
Rather than treating the fuel tanks as isolated assets, Fraser-Lever developed coordinated facility layouts and system philosophies integrating storage, unloading, dispensing, fuel transfer, drainage, access, electrical supply, instrumentation and controls.
For the brownfield facilities, staged bypasses and tie-ins were incorporated so existing fuel infrastructure could remain available while redundant equipment was removed and new systems installed.
Practical engineering decisions included the reuse of suitable tanks and walkways, self-bunded tanks at GTS, duty and standby unloading arrangements and tank-to-tank transfer capability at DBS, together with particulate filtration and water removal. Fuel Management Systems were integrated to support inventory monitoring and vehicle-level transaction reporting.
3D coordination, formal design reviews, Safety in Design and maintainability and constructability reviews were used to identify and resolve multidisciplinary interfaces before construction.
Project outcomes
Across the programme, Fraser-Lever delivered successive study, scope-definition and detailed-design packages supporting the ongoing development of Newmont’s Tanami fuel infrastructure.
Engineering deliverables included design criteria, functional specifications, general arrangements, P&IDs, engineering calculations, equipment and valve schedules, piping and structural drawings, instrumentation documentation, scopes of work, risk reviews, estimates, schedules and investment-support documentation.
The programme provided a consistent multidisciplinary engineering basis across three important fuel facilities while allowing each design to respond to its individual operating environment. The work improved coordination and definition of construction interfaces supported procurement and investment planning, and incorporated maintainability, fuel-quality control, inventory visibility and operational continuity into the designs. Reuse of existing assets where appropriate also supported practical, capital-efficient solutions.
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