Before You Ever Put the First Shovel in the Ground. This Book Could Be the Difference Between a Successful Mining Operation and a Money Pit Opening a successful new mine is a vastly complex undertaking entailing several years and millions to billions of dollars. In today’s world, when environmental and labor policies, regulatory compliance, and impact on the community must be factored in, you cannot afford to make a mistake. So the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration has created this road map for you. Written by two hands-on, in-the-trenches mining project managers with decades of experience who bring some of the world’s most successful, profitable mines into operation on time, within budget, and ethically, Project Management for Mining gives you step-by-step instructions in every process you are likely to encounter. Beginning with a discussion of mining ethics and governance, this clearly written handbook walks you through all the project management steps—defining the scope, performing prefeasibility and feasibility studies, gaining societal acceptance, minimizing the impact and risks, creating workable schedules and budgets, setting in place the project execution plan, assembling the human resources, hiring the contractors, and establishing project controls—and then on into the delivery of the engineering and design, construction, progress reviews, pre-launch commissioning, and ramping up for operation. Each chapter includes several useful aids such as figures, checklists, and flowcharts to guide you through every step, from conception through successful opening.