<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Despite the continued decline in the spot price for thermal coal, Adani is pressing on with the development of its Carmichael coal mine, appointing Parsons Brinckerhoff as project management consultant (PMC) in late October. </span> <p>Carmichael is set to be an open cut and underground operation with an anticipated yield of 60mtpa, which will supply coal to the seaborne market via a 388km standard gauge rail line to expanded facilities at Abbot Point, on Queensland’s north east coast.<br /><br />As PMC for the project, Parsons Brinckerhoff will be responsible for managing and providing assurance services for the multiple engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts during development.<br /><br />Mark Dimmock, Parsons Brinckerhoff’s director of resources, utilities, government and power, said the firm’s wide capabilities and experience will be crucial given the size, scheduling and complexity of the project.<br /><br />“As PMC, Parsons Brinckerhoff will draw on its global resources, PMC toolkit, and project management expertise to manage the project,” Dimmock said.<br /><br />“This significant win, allied to our existing PMC role on Roy Hill in WA, highlights Parsons Brinckerhoff’s pre-eminent position as PMC on large-scale mining projects.”<br /><br />Parsons’ portfolio of PMC contracts has an aggregate value of around $100bn, Dimmock said.<br /><br />The engineer said it will deploy a special team with “embedded knowledge from pit-to-port and across the development lifecycle” to execute the new contract.<br /><br />Parsons consultants will set up at Adani’s Brisbane office for the operation.<br /><br />“A sizeable PMC team is expected to be located in Brisbane and across multiple site-based offices,” the engineer said.<br /><br />Contracts for the Carmichael project will need to cover multiple open cut pits and underground operations, five mine infrastructure areas, a coal handling and processing plant, a heavy industrial area, water-supply infrastructure, and the rail and port infrastructure itself.<br /><br />South Korean firm Posco E&C was signed up to build the rail line in July this year.</p>
