U.S. perspective in the construction of a solar evaporation pond in South Africa

Construction projects inherently have unique challenges associated with the job especially with the scenario of a United States based company providing overseas construction management and technical guidance to local contractors. This paper discusses from a United States (U.S.) based perspective the unique challenges faced by the project team during the construction of a solar evaporation pond for groundwater remediation at a Vanadium mill and mine located in the Republic of South Africa. The technical and political challenges encountered during the project included design constraints, approval delays, unusually severe weather, labor and political instability, communication barriers, construction failures, and QA/QC variations.