GoldQuest picks O3 for Romero project execution discipline

GoldQuest Mining has implemented O3 Solutions at its Romero gold and copper project in the Dominican Republic during early-stage engineering, aiming to centralize permits, contracts, engineering scope and construction planning before construction begins. The move is designed to reduce execution risk on a complex project with multiple regulatory and contract interfaces.

Why it matters: - GoldQuest is trying to lock in execution discipline before construction starts, which can reduce rework, schedule drift and cost overruns on a capital project. - The Romero project’s regulatory and contract complexity makes early coordination especially important. - The implementation shows how Advanced Work Packaging practices are moving upstream into engineering and permitting, not just field execution.

What happened: - O3 Solutions said GoldQuest Mining Corp. has implemented O3 at the Romero gold and copper project in the Dominican Republic. - GoldQuest brought the platform into the project during BFS/FEL3 engineering, before construction. - The project team is using O3 to centralize permits, contracts, engineering scope, procurement and the Path of Construction in one environment.

The details: - GoldQuest structured regulatory permits with dates, classifications and owners. - The team consolidated contract commitments across disciplines and contractors. - The project scope was organized to the Advanced Work Packaging hierarchy. - GoldQuest developed a Path of Construction and integrated the master schedule from Primavera P6. - The integration is designed to connect scope and work packages directly to the project timeline. - Marcelo Fernández, GoldQuest’s study manager, said early adoption created a collaborative space and helped align disciplines and contractors around a common base. - Fernández said the approach improves confidence in the BFS and makes scope communication to bidders simpler. - Fernández also said the defined Path of Construction makes the project more predictable. - Romero’s regulatory profile required permit tracking beyond a standard register. - GoldQuest needed a spatial view showing which plot-plan areas could advance and which were still waiting for approval. - O3 and GoldQuest built a plot-plan association feature for user-defined entities that creates a Path of Permits view. - The Path of Permits acts as the regulatory equivalent of the Path of Construction. - The system maps permits onto the plot plan so the team can sequence work based on regulatory availability as well as engineering and material availability. - Josh Girvin, CEO of O3, said AWP value starts in early decisions on scope, sequence and permits. - Girvin said GoldQuest is arriving in the field with sequenced work and visible constraints. - Girvin said mining owner-operators should pay attention to the approach being built at Romero. - Construction Work Areas, the Work Breakdown Structure and all project disciplines were loaded during the first month of implementation. - Definition of construction, engineering and procurement work packages is continuing through detailed engineering. - As construction mobilizes, the same environment will support workface planning and field execution.

Between the lines: - GoldQuest is using software to make permitting, sequencing and contracting visible in one system, which can matter more than the tool itself on complex projects. - The Path of Permits feature suggests regulatory approvals are being treated as a scheduling constraint on par with materials and engineering. - The early setup indicates GoldQuest wants fewer surprises once field work starts.

What's next: - GoldQuest will continue defining work packages through detailed engineering. - The project will move from planning into workface planning and field execution as construction mobilizes. - O3 and GoldQuest will keep using the platform to manage the project’s execution sequence.

The bottom line: - GoldQuest is trying to build the project’s execution system before the first major construction push, not after problems show up in the field.