Associated Case Studies:

Aquifer Testing, In-Situ Recovery Uranium Operation

Wyoming, USA

Situation:

Norwest was contracted by Cameco Resources (CR), an in-situ recovery uranium producer in Wyoming to implement a multi-well aquifer test. The purpose of the test was threefold: 1) to demonstrate hydraulic continuity throughout the mine unit; 2) to determine the aquifer parameters: transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity and storativity; and 3) to collect step-drawdown data to allow for proper design of well field production pumps.

Solution:

Norwest installed and documented direct-read data logging pressure transducers in 66 observation wells and one pumping well. A 72-hour pumping test was conducted in order to achieve the projected drawdown requirements at the maximum observation well distance. Norwest utilized a mobile field command center with wireless connection for data upload to a remote server.

Result:

Norwest conducted all work exceeding CR and OSHA HSE requirements. Data collection allowed for real-time test management. Norwest was able to conduct the appropriate testing, compile and analyze the data, and prepare the final report for submittal to regulators to allow for an extension of the mining permit to a new mine unit.

Environmental Compliance

Southern Colorado, USA

Situation:

Norwest was contracted by Evergreen Resources Inc. in 1998 to provide high quality, third party environmental compliance support to ensure compliance with a multitude of environmental regulations allowing operations to continue uninterrupted at Evergreen’s coal bed methane well field in the Central Raton Basin (CRB) in Southern Colorado.

Solution:

Norwest developed and implemented an inspection and testing program for production and domestic wells, drilling and production pits, storm water controls, and reclamation work that complies with requirements of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Bureau of Land Management, and the Colorado Division of Water Resources. Norwest responded to landowner complaints and spill events and documented the situation, collected water and soil samples in accordance with COGCC and CDPHE requirements, and advised our Client on appropriate responses. Norwest prepared Discharge Monitoring Reports in compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits for the site and developed and implemented a stream monitoring program including continuous recording gauging stations to monitor for changes in the stream system.

Result:

Pioneer Natural Resources acquired Evergreen in 2004 and Norwest continued to provide environmental compliance services in the CRB. The ongoing environmental compliance work for Pioneer’s operations in the CRB is supported by a six person field office which allows Norwest to react in a timely manner to client or agency needs.

Hard Rock Mine

New Mexico, USA

Situation:

Norwest monitors the geotechnical stability of large mine waste rock piles at a hard rock mine in New Mexico. The rock piles were end dumped at angle of repose over the last 50 years and remain in their original geometry. Concerns by the corporation, State, and other stakeholders necessitated a rock pile monitoring system.

Solution:

Norwest developed an operational geotechnical monitoring program, which includes rock pile inspections and instrumentation monitoring. Monthly inspections are performed by site personnel, and semi-annual inspections by Norwest’s geotechnical engineers. Norwest routinely monitors the 32 slope inclinometers and 103 vibrating wire piezometers installed in 57 boreholes.

Result:

Norwest processes and interprets the data and summarizes the findings in annual reports. The reports are submitted to all the stakeholders: EPA, State of New Mexico, and their consultants, and the corporation. Thru the data, Norwest has demonstrated that the rock piles are stable allowing final reclamation planning to occur at a reasonable, not expedited, pace.

Oil Sands and Fish Habitats

Athabasca, Alberta, Canada

Situation:

Compensating for lost fish habitat was an essential requirement in the authorization for a major new oil sand mine development in the Athabasca region of Alberta. A key requirement of the lake was to maintain fish passage from a downstream river through the lake to upstream creeks for a minimum of 100 days per year. The lake also had to accommodate various types of fish habitats and species that are native to the connected river and creeks. Norwest was contracted by our client, the mine developer, to design and construct the lake to meet these criteria.

Solution:

A dynamic multidisciplinary team consisting of civil and mining engineers, hydrologists, geotechnical engineers, fisheries biologists, hydrogeologists and our client’s environmental group was assembled for the design process. The lake was designed to meet the requirements of multiple provincial and federal regulatory agencies. A customized solution was developed to meet the local stakeholder and client requirements.

Result:

Construction of the 47 hectare lake and site reclamation activities was completed between August, 2009 and May 2010. An as-built versus design audit showed the lake met the intent of the design in terms of the numbers of fish habitat units (HU) created. The data showed that the lake was suitable for 20 species of fish, and the deviation from the designed HU’s was 0.3%. At Norwest we consider ourselves fortunate to have been part of this exciting environmentally sustainable solution to the development of Alberta’s oil sands.

Oil Sands Mine

Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

After supplying pit wall and waste dump designs to an oil sands mine, Norwest was contracted to carry out geotechnical instrumentation installation and monitoring on the site. Slope inclinometers, vibrating wire piezometers, and stand pipe piezometers were installed throughout the pit wall and waste dumps to monitor movement and piezometric fluctuations. Norwest field staff continued monitoring these instruments to build up a history of performance at the mine.

As the designer, Norwest had the most intimate knowledge of the structures and was able to use field data to verify and optimize the operational performance of the mine structures. Because Norwest had direct control of data acquisition and was able to tailor the data collection to coincide with mining conditions, invaluable data could be gathered from unique situations and the learnings passed directly onto the client.

Oil Sands Resource Assessment

Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Situation:

A junior Canadian oil and gas exploration company acquired several oil sands leases north of Fort McMurray. Within 12 months they wanted to conduct a core drilling program, develop a sub-surface geological model of the area, and produce resource estimates of their leases. Norwest was retained to manage and execute all aspects the program.

Solution:

The program was conducted in three phases; planning and permitting, project execution, and reporting. During the planning and permitting phase of the project, the Norwest team developed a 200 core hole exploration plan on the leases that would satisfy the lease obligations and resource reporting requirements. All of the required exploration and environmental permits and agreements were acquired. Norwest’s tendering process was used to select and contract all key service providers including on-site safety services, surveyors, drilling rigs, geophysical logging, camp construction, and road building contractors. Norwest’s cost control system was customized to meet the client’s specific accounting system requirements.

Norwest executed the program within the three month winter drilling season with no lost time incidents. The program involved a core hole survey, installation of a 160 man camp, construction of approximately 300 km of winter road, and the drilling of 200 core holes. All of the desired core holes were completed with over 95 percent core recovery and transported to a lab in Calgary. At the lab, all cores were described by Norwest geologists and subsequently photographed and analyzed.

During the reporting phase, a detailed geological model was completed based on the core hole data. Norwest issued four reports documenting safety and environmental compliance, operations, an internal geological report, and a 51-101 compliant report intended for public disclosure of our independent resource estimate of the deposit.

Result:

As a result of the cost effective execution of the field program, in a safe and environmentally compliant manner, the client retained the services of Norwest to manage their drilling activities in other lease areas. The reports generated by Norwest assisted the client in securing additional financing to further develop their lease holdings and acquire additional lands.

SAGD Resource, Water Supply and Geotechnical Data Collection

Northern Alberta, Canada

Situation:

An international resource development company acquired an oil sands lease in the Athabasca region of Alberta. The resource was an in-situ development target that had yet to be sufficiently defined to proceed with a development permit or detailed SAGD design work. A potential process water aquifer had been identified but not adequately assessed for suitability as an operational water source. Additional geotechnical investigations were required in the proposed plant-site area.

Solution:

Norwest, acting as prime contractor, was responsible for all aspects of project planning, execution and management. We built a multidisciplinary project team consisting of resource coring, geotechnical engineering and hydrogeological specialists and designed an execution plan to meet the program requirements. This approach allowed each group to work seamlessly with and in support of one another facilitating operational efficiencies. Norwest typically utilizes this multidisciplinary approach to meet our clients’ needs.

Result:

Norwest planned and executed the project safely, on time and within 3% of the approved budget. The geological data was compiled, analyzed and used to create detailed geological and reservoir simulation models. Hydrogeological data showed that the aquifer is a potential process water source for the proposed production operations. These results allowed our client to proceed with further planning and permitting of their proposed SAGD in-situ and surface facilities. Norwest continues to support this client by providing geological, reservoir engineering, hydrogeological and geotechnical services in support of the project’s ongoing development work.

Field Services

The Field Services Group utilizes Norwest professionals who are supported by key, industry leading, associates and strategic partners. We provide field services for extractive energy and natural resource projects from initial resource definition through to final reclamation. Together we execute safe, cost effective and timely field programs that deliver high quality data to our clients. Norwest personnel have planned, initiated and managed numerous field programs with diverse objectives for a wide range of resource industries.

Norwest has a Certificate of Recognition (COR) and operates within an active and comprehensive Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) program. This program is monitored and maintained by a full time risk management professional who reports directly to the president of Norwest.

Norwest offers our clients a diverse range of Field Services solutions for all phases of a project including:

Field Services

Environmental Monitoring

Our specialized team of environmental professionals offers a broad range of water, air, and soil analysis and monitoring field services to support our clients’ environmental assessment, remediation, and compliance needs.

Our services include:

Multi-media compliance sampling and monitoring
- Groundwater
- Free and dissolved gases
- Surface water
- Air
- Soil gas sampling
- Shallow soil sampling (hazardous and non-hazardous)
- Free-phase hydrocarbon sampling
- Whole rock analysis and geochemical testing
- Isotope sampling
- Tracer testing
Monitor well construction
Phase 1 and 2 site investigation
Remediation equipment implementation
Soil/groundwater remediation operations

Exploration Planning, Drilling and Field Management

The Norwest Field Services Group manages exploration and delineation programs in the oil sands, unconventional oil and gas, and potash industries from project conception through to reclamation. To date Field Services has successfully managed the planning, permitting, and field execution of more than fifty Oil Sands Exploration (OSE) programs. These projects consisting of over 2,000 oil sands evaluation wells, as well as hundreds of hydrogeological and geotechnical wells. The projects have been in both the surface minable and in situ recovery areas of the Athabasca region of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Field Services group has completed several potash exploration and development programs in addition to many CBM, heavy oil, shale gas, and tight sand gas projects in Canada, the USA and internationally.

The key disciplines under the Field Services Group are:

Project management:

Planning; budgeting, scheduling, permitting, staffing, procurement
Project controls; cost tracking, progress & change management, reporting
Execution; drilling, construction, multidisciplinary data collection
Environmental; HSE & regulatory compliance, water and waste management, reclamation

Geological Supervision:

Geological supervision of coring operations
Geophysical logging QC
Data collection, description and secure transmittal

Construction:

Leases, roads and sumps building oversight
Equipment needs and scheduling
Regulatory compliance
Leases, roads, and sumps reclamation

Drilling:

Supervision of Drilling activities
Specialization in OSE programs
Field operations drilling management
Regulatory and safety compliance on rigs
Well licensing and ERCB DDS filing

Land services:

Permitting, stake holder consultations, road use agreements
Registered Alberta land agents strategic partner
Specialization in OSE programs
Current with all regulatory requirements

Geomatics:

Surveying and mapping
Registered ALS strategic partner
Specialization in OSE programs
Audited HSE system in place

Risk Management:

HSE regulatory management
Field Health and Safety supervision
Document and address hazards, near misses and incidents
Conduct field HSE investigations
Ensure safety/tailgate meetings are documented
Monitor training and certifications for Contractor personnel

Multidisciplinary Projects:

Geology, Hydrology, Surface Water and Environmental
Geotechnical, Drilling, Reservoir and Mine Engineering
Construction, Reclamation, and Community Relations

Operational Monitoring and Data Management

Norwest field personnel provide installation and monitoring services for instrumentation at both active and reclaimed mine sites. The geotechnical knowledge of our field staff enables them to perform visual inspections of operational mine conditions in addition to instrument monitoring. This provides our clients with the benefits of integrating visual observation with data acquisition. Consistent instrumentation data is valuable and a trained eye will provide key information to assess operational performance.

Norwest’s field staff is supported by knowledgeable engineers who verify, analyze, and interpret the field data. This process allows field information to be given to our designers and clients in a timely fashion. Then, with the use of industry proven software and user friendly databases, large amounts of data can be summarized and presented easily.

Our services include:

Geotechnical field program planning
Instrumentation needs assessment
Core logging and geological interpretation
Geotechnical instrument installation
- slope inclinometers
- vibrating wire piezometers
- stand pipe piezometers
- monitoring wells
- extensometers
Initialization and monitoring of field instrumentation
Verification, analysis, and interpretation of the instrumentation data
Geotechnical performance reporting
Web-based GIS mapping
Hydrologic and hydrogeologic sampling and database management
Real time field hydrologic data entry and QA/QC
Hydrologic testing and monitoring

Operational monitoring and data management is a value added service which can benefit our clients in many ways. Verified technical information can be an invaluable asset to any mine site. Norwest’s Field Services Group provides a clear picture of current geotechnical or hydrogeologic conditions to optimize design and resource use for our clients.

Site Specific Engineering and Construction Management

Norwest’s Field Services Group offers a comprehensive range of services to meet our clients’ geotechnical site investigation and construction needs. From site investigations for design to construction and operations, our technical staff provides a clear picture of foundation conditions for a variety of earth structures. Geologic logs, photos, geophysical well logs, and a variety of appropriate sampling techniques give our clients a clear picture of the subsurface conditions.

Our group provides construction design and in-field expertise to our clients who require environmentally and economically sustainable solutions that support their mine developments and operations. Our expertise comes from engineers and geologists with years of experience who know what to look for when carrying out site investigations.

Norwest has strong experience in areas that include:

Designs
- Open-pit slopes
- Waste dumps
- Rock piles
- Earth dam structures
- Man made lakes
Slope stability assessments
Infrastructure offset or boundary assessments
Mine waste management
Mine closure, progressive reclamation, and geomorphic landscape designs
Rock slope hazard assessments
On-site construction management

Water Resources Management

Norwest’s experts provide hydrology, hydrogeology and engineering field services to assist clients with a wide variety of water resource issues including:

Well and Aquifer Testing

Well installation oversight
Pump/packer/IFOT installation
Aquifer testing (transducers, dataloggers, IFOT)
Multiple and single well drawdown testing (standard and discrete intervals)
Groundwater sampling (hazardous/non-hazardous by pump, bail and air-lift)
Tracer testing
Slug testing (standard and discrete intervals)

Water Supply Well Construction

Supervise onsite drilling and well design
Logging
Well completion
Well testing and
Water quality sample collection

Surface Water

Surface water flows (weirs, flumes, and continuous monitoring)
Surface water quality sampling (manual and automated)
Spring and seep mapping
Stormwater inspections
Hydrologic feature verification (GPS)
Beneficial use survey
Wetlands delineation
Stakeholder field meetings
Reservoir construction oversight
Infiltration investigations

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Field Services

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Our services include:

Project management:

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Construction:

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Land services:

Geomatics:

Risk Management:

Multidisciplinary Projects:

Our services include:

Well and Aquifer Testing

Water Supply Well Construction

Surface Water