Mining & mineral processing
CAD & Drafting Services for Mining
Structural, mechanical and civil drafting support for mining and mineral processing projects.
Built around the reality of operating plants, brownfield conditions and fixed shutdown windows.
Why Accuracy Matters on a Shutdown Window
Mining and mineral processing projects combine structural steelwork, mechanical equipment and civil infrastructure, often across remote sites and on fixed shutdown or commissioning windows. Documentation needs to be accurate the first time, because a detailing error discovered mid-shutdown can mean a plant stays offline far longer than planned, at a direct cost that dwarfs the cost of the drafting itself.
We provide structural, mechanical and civil drafting support for mining sector projects — from processing plant structures and equipment documentation through to site civil works.
Pre-shutdown
- — Design
- — Review
- — Fabrication
- — Preparation
Shutdown window · fixed
- Remove
- Install
- Inspect
- Commission
Return to operation
Plant back online · as-built updated
Illustrative documentation package
SHUTDOWN_PACKAGE/
- FABRICATION_DRAWINGS
- STRUCTURAL_DRAWINGS
- EQUIPMENT_DOCUMENTATION
- SITE_CIVIL_DRAWINGS
- INSTALLATION_REFERENCES
- AS_BUILT_UPDATES
Contents depend on project scope — not every project needs every item.
When the Drawings Don't Match the Plant
Brownfield work dominates a large share of mining-sector drafting, because processing plants are rarely built once and left alone — they're modified, expanded and requalified repeatedly over decades of operation. That means a large part of the value in this work is reconciling what a plant's original drawings say against what's actually built and operating today, which frequently differ after years of incremental, undocumented site changes.
Brownfield projects often require reconciling drawings against as-built site conditions before new design work can proceed accurately.
- Original
- Current
- Difference
- 1Platform extended
- 2Equipment footprint changed
- 3Stair relocated
- 4Access platform added
- 5Conveyor / pipe rerouted
- 6Opening moved
Differences are identified and recorded — not judged as errors. Illustrative geometry.
Reconciliation workflow
- Existing drawing + photos / survey / site data
- Reconciliation
- Current condition
- New design / documentation
Reconciliation record
- Original design
- Site observation
- Difference identified
- Reconciliation record
Working Remotely From Site Information
The remoteness of many Indian mining operations, particularly in the eastern mineral belt and parts of central India, means documentation support is frequently delivered entirely remotely, with site information supplied through photographs, survey data and existing drawings rather than a site visit — a workflow this service is built around rather than treating as an exception.
- Photos + survey + existing drawings + markups
- Remote engineering workflow
- CAD / BIM / documentation
Inputs combine — whatever mix is available. Not every project can be scoped from remote inputs alone.
Structural, Mechanical and Civil — One Operating Environment
We provide structural, mechanical and civil drafting support for mining sector projects — from processing plant structures and equipment documentation through to site civil works.
- 01Steel frames
- 02Platforms
- 03Walkways
- 04Support structures
Design Documentation Around the Way the Plant Is Maintained
Structural documentation for platforms, walkways and access structures has to account for real operational constraints — maintenance access, equipment removal paths, and load cases from mobile plant that a purely theoretical structural model might not anticipate.
- Equipment
- Access route
- Removal clearance
- Service area
Conceptual only — no lifting capacities, crane capacities or structural loads are shown or calculated.
Documentation for Harsh Processing Environments
Mechanical equipment documentation for fixed and mobile plant in a mining context also needs to account for a harsher operating environment than a typical factory — dust, vibration and abrasive material handling all shape maintenance access and component selection in ways that a general industrial equipment drawing wouldn't necessarily reflect.
Mechanical documentation accounts for the harsher operating environment typical of mineral processing — dust, vibration and abrasive material handling.
Access, Egress and Fall Protection Start in the Detailing
Regulatory and safety documentation requirements around mining infrastructure add another layer that shapes how structural and civil drafting gets scoped — access, egress and fall-protection provisions on platforms and walkways aren't optional details to be added later, they're central to the structure's actual purpose and need to be built into the detailing from the earliest stage.
No compliance with a particular regulation is claimed — detailing follows the standards specified for your project.
When the Site Is Remote, the Drawing Has to Travel Before the Steel Does
Remote site logistics shape how this work gets scoped: drawings need to be right before fabrication starts, because a wrong piece discovered on a remote site during a shutdown window can't simply be re-ordered and delivered next-day the way it might on a metro construction site.
India's mining and mineral processing sector spans coal, iron ore, bauxite and a range of other mineral commodities, each with somewhat different processing plant configurations, but sharing the same fundamental documentation challenges — brownfield reconciliation, remote logistics, and fixed shutdown windows that don't tolerate a late or wrong drawing.
Fabrication decisions happen before the component reaches site.
Typical Mining & Mineral Processing Projects
Processing plant structural steel documentation
Typical Mining Project Deliverables
Depending on project scope, the package can include:
MINING_PROJECT/
- SHOP_DRAWINGS
- ERECTION_DRAWINGS
- FABRICATION_DRAWINGS
- STRUCTURAL_MODEL
- SITE_DRAWINGS
- CURRENT_CONDITION
- DRAWING_COMPARISON
Documentation Built Around Operating Reality
- 01
Brownfield
Brownfield projects often require reconciling drawings against as-built site conditions before new design work can proceed accurately.
- 02
Shutdown
Structural and mechanical documentation is drafted to support fabrication and installation within site shutdown or commissioning windows, where a wrong piece can't be corrected next-day.
- 03
Access
Access, maintenance clearance and mobile plant load cases are considered as part of structural detailing for operating plants, not just the primary structural loads.
- 04
Environment
Mechanical documentation accounts for the harsher operating environment typical of mineral processing — dust, vibration and abrasive material handling.
Software Used in Mining Projects
Structural BIM
Structural steel and structural BIM — frames, platforms and access structures, with shop and erection drawings.
Explore Tekla StructuresMining Project Documentation Map
- Mining project documentation
- Structural · Mechanical · Civil
- Steel · Equipment · Site
- Coordination
- Documentation
- Shutdown / site
- + Brownfield · Remote logistics · Access · As-built
Related Projects
Illustrative examples, marked as such — not mining client projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Automotive questions
Yes, brownfield work often starts with converting or reconciling existing drawings against current site conditions before new design proceeds, since a plant's as-built condition and its original drawings frequently diverge after years of operation.
Yes, sites that have changed ownership often carry drawing archives from several different eras and standards, and reconciling this into a single trustworthy current-state record is a common and valuable undertaking.
Yes, consolidating drawing archives from several past operators, each potentially using a different standard, into a single reliable current-state record is a common and valuable brownfield task.
Yes, documenting new structural and mechanical additions coordinated against existing plant infrastructure is a common brownfield expansion project type.
Get a Quote for Your Mining Project
Tell us what you need and our team can review the project requirements.
- Site input
- Brownfield reconciliation
- CAD / BIM
- Fabrication
- Remote site
- Shutdown / commissioning