INCREASED OPPORTUNITY Murray & Roberts Cementation expects a growth in shaft sinking operations in Africa
Africa has the potential to create more shaft sinking operations opportunities in the near future, says engineering contracting company Murray & Roberts Cementation.
The company’s business development executive Allan Widlake says, as a result of the emerging opportunities, Murray & Roberts Cementation has seen growth in its order book and expects to add more projects in the short term.
In South Africa, Murray & Roberts Cementation is delivering a twin vertical and single decline shaft (blind sink) at petrochemicals group Sasol’s mining subsidiary, Sasol Mining’s Impumelelo mine project in Mpumalanga, Widlake says.
He adds that the company is also deepening the No 1 and No 3 shafts at diamond mining group Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan diamond mine, situated 40 km east of Pretoria, and is blind sinking a ventilation shaft at manganese ore miner Assmang’s Gloria manganese mine, in the Northern Cape.
In Zambia, Murray & Roberts Cementation is blind sinking and equipping the main shaft at integrated copper and cobalt producer Mopani Copper Mines’ Synclinorium shaft, in the town of Mufulira in the Copperbelt province, as well as carrying out shaft sinking and high-speed development at the Mufulira Deeps expansion project also owned by Mopani Copper Mines, says Widlake.
He adds that Murray & Roberts Cementation is focusing on West, Southern and East Africa as its main target markets. The company has opened an office in Zambia and has also entered into a partnership with subcontracting mining company Enterprise Générale Malta Forrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo to explore mining opportunities together. It also has an office in Accra, Ghana, which was opened in 2013.
Widlake says Murray & Roberts Cementation’s underground mining platform is positioning the company ahead of its competition when it comes to performing effective project management in shaft sinking operations.
“Our underground mining platform not only has growth in its order book, but with 22 active shaft projects under way globally, it is the single most active shaft sinking group in the world outside China.”