Project Code of Accounts — Mining
A beginner's guide to the code of accounts for mining projects — the coding system structured around a mine's distinct areas: the pit or underground mine, the process plant, tailings, and the supporting infrastructure that remote sites demand. Built on AACE International RP 103R-19.
What this standard adds
The general principles from Lesson 2 carry over; what changes is the top-level structure. A mine isn't one homogeneous facility — it's a collection of quite different sub-projects, and the code of accounts must keep them separable so each can be budgeted and controlled on its own terms.
How mining projects are coded
- Mine / pit — The open pit or underground mine — earthworks, mining fleet, development. Very different cost drivers from the plant.
- Process plant — Crushing, grinding, and recovery — equipment-driven, much like a process plant (Lesson 4's logic applies here).
- Tailings & water — Tailings storage and water management — large civil works with their own cost and risk profile.
- Infrastructure — Roads, power, water supply, camp, ports — the often-huge supporting works remote mines require.
A mining code, field by field
| Field | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 20 | Process plant |
| Sub-area / facility | 240 | Grinding circuit |
| Discipline / commodity | MEC | Mechanical |
| Cost type | M | Material |
Putting it to work
For a mining project, build the code of accounts around the distinct areas — mine, plant, tailings, infrastructure — give infrastructure and owner's costs proper visibility, and align it with how the study estimate (scoping/PFS/FS) was structured. The result is controls data that lets each very-different part of the mine be managed on its own terms.
Nine things to remember
- 103R-19 tailors the code of accounts to mining — structured around the mine's distinct areas.
- A mine is several different sub-projects under one budget — keep them separable.
- Top-level areas: mine/pit, process plant, tailings/water, infrastructure.
- Each area has different cost drivers — earthmoving, equipment, civil — don't lump them.
- The plant area echoes the process code (Lesson 4) — equipment-driven.
- Infrastructure is not an afterthought — on remote mines it can rival the mine and plant.
- Capture owner's costs and sustaining capital explicitly — easy to under-code.
- Align with the study estimate (scoping/PFS/FS) structure for clean comparison.
- One code, many industries — general principles, mining's many-area structure.
Glossary
- Code of accounts (mining)
- Cost coding structured around a mine's areas.
- Infrastructure
- Roads, power, water, camp, ports supporting the mine.
- Life-of-mine
- The full operating horizon of the mine.
- Mine / pit
- The open-pit or underground extraction area.
- Owner's cost
- The owner's own project costs (teams, permits, studies).
- Process plant
- Crushing, grinding, and recovery facility.
- Sustaining capital
- Capital spent over the mine's operating life.
- Tailings storage
- Facility for processing residue — major civil works.