Pipeline Framework: Wheal Jane – Operation and Maintenance

A pipeline has been launched for Wheal Jane – Operation and Maintenance.The contract start Date is 01 November 2020. Approach to market date is 15 October 2019.In partnership with Defra and The Environment Agency, The Coal Authority delivers the ‘Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme’ (WAMM) to help tackle the problem of metal mine pollution and deliver the objectives of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and statutory River Basin Management Plans.The Coal Authority seeks to let a 10 year operation & maintenance contract for the Wheal Jane mine water treatment scheme near Truro, Cornwall. The existing operating contract ends in October 2020.The Wheal Jane mine water treatment scheme treats mine water pumped from below ground using a high density sludge process. The resultant sludge is pumped to a dam and the treated water is discharged to a stream.In a typical year approximately 6 million cubic metres of mine water is abstracted, 600 tonnes of metal contaminants (predominantly iron and zinc) are removed and 2,000 tonnes of hydrated lime, 7,000 kg of anionic flocculant and 3,000 MW-h of power are consumed. In addition to the operating plant, the plant infrastructure includes a workshop, storage facilities and office space. The plant is fully manned 8am – 4pm Mon-Fri, with an out-of-hours emergency on-call roster in operation. During peak periods, skeleton weekend coverage is sometimes necessary.The service required under the contract is the operation of and planned & preventative maintenance to the mine water treatment plant including:Carrying out daily checks on the plant, taking samples and carrying out maintenance activitiesMaking informed adjustments to the treatment process to ensure efficient use of chemicals and powerProcuring chemicals and supervising deliveryDeveloping and implementing a 10 year asset management programme and maintaining an asset management systemEnsuring compliance with consents, licences and permits and liaising with appropriate regulatory bodiesAdhering to health, safety and environmental standardsReporting operational costs, safety statistics and performance trendsProvision and management of a database to capture and store plant dataAdditional services may be instructed and may include:Project management of capital projectsManaging, supervising and assisting in research & development projectsProviding flow monitoring and water sampling services in the south west regionEmergency worksThe operating contract will be let under the NEC Term Service Contract. The anticipated time line for issue of tender documents is 15th October 2019 to allow the new operator to be in place by October 2020.This is a potential opportunity from the government, and the pipeline gives advance notice of an opportunity that might be offered by the public sector in the future – allowing potential suppliers to plan accordingly. When a public sector organisation publishes a pipeline notice, it does not necessarily mean that an opportunity will be offered in the future.For more information contact: The Coal Authority, 200 Lichfield Lane, Mansfield NG184RG. Tel: 07826 874541. Email: peterkobryn@coal.gov.uk (Peter Kobryn)