Project Definition, Technical Advisory and Due Diligence 

Sedgman helps clients shape resource opportunities into well-defined projects by establishing clear study criteria, testing options, reviewing technical assumptions and integrating the process, safety, operability, schedule and reporting inputs needed for sound decision-making. Our concept and feasibility study support provides a stronger basis to progress, refine, defer or invest in a project with greater clarity. 

Early project decisions have a significant influence on value, risk and project development outcomes. The quality of these decisions can determine whether a project creates long-term value or encounters costly delays, redesigns, financing challenges and performance shortfalls. Sedgman helps clients make investment decisions with greater confidence by ensuring critical assumptions are tested before they become embedded in project plans. Sedgman works with clients to establish the criteria, evidence and decision framework needed to support concept and feasibility studies, helping project teams define what must be proven before capital, schedule and delivery commitments advance.

Our specialists bring together project criteria development, independent technical advisory, due diligence, concept engineering, options analysis, process safety and operability, and mining schedule inputs to develop a robust basis for decision-making. By integrating these inputs into a single study framework, we help clients assess technical and commercial viability, understand the key uncertainties, and identify the actions required before progressing to the next project gate. Sustainability considerations, including energy use, water demand, emissions performance and social license requirements, can also be incorporated into study frameworks to support long-term project viability. A robust study framework also improves project credibility with lenders, investors, boards, regulators and project partners by demonstrating that key technical, commercial and execution risks have been systematically assessed.  

Drawing on minerals processing expertise, multidisciplinary engineering experience, study management capability and operating insight, Sedgman helps clients challenge assumptions early, evaluate alternatives objectively and apply greater rigor to decisions that determine the project direction. Unlike advisors focused solely on studies, Sedgman brings experience across project development, engineering delivery, commissioning and operations. This ensures recommendations are grounded in the realities of execution and long-term asset performance. The result is a stronger study basis, improved risk visibility and better alignment between resource potential, processing strategy, project schedule and execution readiness. With extensive experience across studies, engineering and project delivery, Sedgman works with clients to define practical development solutions and advance projects more efficiently. Our comprehensive study management approach provides the structure and discipline needed to support sound decision-making throughout all phases of feasibility.

We approach early-stage project development from an owner’s perspective, focusing not only on technical feasibility but on whether the project can ultimately be financed, constructed, operated and optimised successfully.  

Outcomes We Focus On

Business Outcomes:

  • Higher confidence in investment and project advancement decisions.
  • Reduced technical, commercial and execution risk.  
  • Improved project bankability and financing readiness.
  • Better alignment between project value drivers and study outcomes.
  • Stronger support for board, investor and stakeholder decision-making.
  • More efficient progression through project development stages. 

Technical Outcomes:

  • Clear, defensible study criteria and decision frameworks.
  • Independent challenge and validation of critical assumptions.
  • Better integration of mining, processing, infrastructure and execution inputs.  
  • Improved safety, operability and maintainability considerations.
  • Stronger alignment between technical reporting requirements and study maturity. 

What We Deliver

Sedgman helps define the study basis, project drivers, assumptions, constraints, performance requirements and decision gates that guide concept and feasibility work. This creates a clear framework for evaluating alternatives, managing scope and aligning technical work with the key decisions required to advance the project. Clear decision gates help ensure each project phase generates the information required to justify progression, reducing the risk of advancing projects before key uncertainties have been resolved. 

Sedgman provides independent technical advisory and due diligence services to help clients understand the strengths, gaps and opportunities, and risks within a project or study. Support can range from high-level red flag and fatal flaw reviews as well as targeted reviews of specific technical items. Equally important, our assessments identify opportunities for value enhancement, helping clients balance risk mitigation with project optimisation and growth potential. Our reviews challenge assumptions, test the robustness of development strategies and provide practical insight to support investment, acquisition, financing, partnering and project advancement decisions. Reviews are structured to identify value risks, execution risks and technical uncertainties early, allowing corrective action before significant capital or schedule commitments are made. 

We develop and compare concept-level engineering options across processing routes, infrastructure requirements, plant layouts, project delivery strategies and operating considerations. This helps clients evaluate alternatives using practical technical and commercial criteria, balancing value, risk, complexity, constructability, operability and project readiness before selecting the preferred project direction. Option assessments are performed through a techno-economic lens, evaluating how alternative development pathways influence capital intensity, operating costs, schedule risk, operability, sustainability outcomes and overall project value. 

We integrate process safety, safety-in-design, operability, maintainability and operational considerations into early-stage study work to ensure options are assessed on more than technical performance alone. This supports the development of safer, more practical concepts that are better positioned for downstream engineering, approvals, delivery and operation. Early integration of safety, operability and regulatory considerations can also streamline approvals processes by identifying potential constraints and compliance requirements before detailed engineering begins. 

Where required, we provide technical and study inputs that align with recognised mineral project reporting frameworks, including NI 43-101, JORC and S-K 1300. Our role is to help ensure engineering, processing, scheduling and study assumptions are appropriately defined, traceable and supported at the level of confidence required for the study stage. 

We consider ore lithology, mining schedules and development sequencing where they influence processing strategy, plant capacity, feed characteristics, infrastructure timing, execution planning and project economics. This helps create better alignment between resource development, metallurgical test work, process design and project delivery, reducing uncertainty and supporting the practical pathway to project delivery. Particular attention is given to ensuring metallurgical assumptions and testwork programs reflect the material expected during the critical early years of operation, improving confidence that predicted plant performance can be achieved during commissioning and ramp-up. 

Get In Touch

Talk to Sedgman about your concept or feasibility study

Click here