M&R’s Mining platform achieves strong recovery, order book at pre-pandemic levels

Engineering and mining contracting company Murray & Roberts’ (M&R’s) Mining system claims its purchase guide has recovered to pre-pandemic stages.

M&R Mining system CEO Mike da Costa provides that the system has built a solid restoration from the financial outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our order reserve was eroded in the speedy aftermath of the world wide financial shutdown brought about by the pandemic but has now recovered nicely. It now totals R22.2-billion, which is sharply up on the R17.9-billion of a yr back.

“Future prospective buyers also look very good as there is a substantial pipeline of new jobs that we’re bidding on,” he states.

“Notable mines and jobs where by the organization is currently performing consist of the Venetia Underground Task (VUP), in South Africa the Jansen potash project, in Canada the Kennecott Utah Copper Keystone undertaking, in the US the Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine, in Mongolia the Grasberg copper/gold mine, in Indonesia and the Tanami gold mine, in Australia.”

The Mining system generated R9.5-billion in income through M&R’s 2021 money 12 months, offering services spanning each element of underground mining, which includes feasibility research, expert engineering, vertical and decrease shaft building, mine advancement, expert mining products and services these types of as increase monotonous and grouting and deal mining.

The acquisition by M&R of Terra Nova Technologies, in the US, and Insig Systems, in Australia, will noticeably grow the Mining platform’s abilities, suggests Da Costa.

San Diego-based Terra Nova has provided the Mining platform a powerful foothold in the components handling current market. The organization models, provides and commissions overland conveyors, crushing/conveying systems, cellular stacking techniques and in-pit crushing and conveying units.

“Terra Nova is a excellent in shape for M&R’s Mining platform and presents us the functionality of delivering, for illustration, conveying units of up to 12 000 t/h capability.

“Its major marketplace is North The usa but it is also energetic in South America and has an place of work in Santiago, Chile. It has not long ago gained a main contract in Chile. Our intention is to improve the enterprise by leveraging our global footprint,” he claims.

Even further, the Insig acquisition requires M&R into higher-know-how territory, as the enterprise specialises in creating Internet of Things (IoT) units and remote command remedies in the mining discipline.

“We’ve been doing the job on a digital technique for the Mining system for some time now and the acquisition of Insig is central to our digital journey.

“We will be working with Insig’s methods in-residence in the beginning but will eventually industry them to the wider mining sector. We see them as becoming critical in our move to increase efficiencies, slice prices and raise security as a result of digitisation,” Da Costa states.

The M&R Mining platform consists of a few regional businesses, specifically Murray & Roberts Cementation, headquartered in Johannesburg and with branches in Kitwe, Zambia, and Accra, Ghana Cementation Americas, which incorporates Cementation United states, centered in Salt Lake City and RUC Cementation, which operates out of Perth, Australia.

M&R Cementation business enterprise director Allan Widlake suggests there is a lot of scope for the enterprise to mature in South Africa and the relaxation of Africa.

“Clients across the board are starting up to place out new tenders and jobs that have been formerly on maintain are now coming to the market. This is particularly the situation in South Africa, but we are also encouraged by developments in other elements of Africa.

“In Zambia, for instance, there are undoubtedly options rising on the Copperbelt,” he claims.

Murray & Roberts Cementation is presently turning over about R3.5-billion a calendar year, but is aiming to raise this to R4.5-billion, and the bulk of its operate is in South Africa, M&R Cementation MD Mike Wells suggests.

“At the minute, our African presence is largely confined to raiseboring contracts in Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, as properly as a agreement at the Navachab gold mine, in Namibia, wherever the consumer is creating a trial underground mine.

“In South Africa, nonetheless, we are extremely occupied. We’ve absolutely set the effects of the pandemic guiding us,” he claims.

A certain emphasize for M&R Cementation at the instant is the coal sector. It is operating at the New Clydesdale colliery via its Boipelo joint undertaking.

“We are also at Matla 1, in which we are undertaking stonework to re-set up the mine in a new spot. Yet another option in the coal sector is to do stonework by the method of road-heading and we are actively pursuing do the job of this type,” says Wells.

Meanwhile, M&R Cementation’s flagship agreement is the VUP, where by the company’s get the job done on the sinking and equipping of the two vertical shafts the task involves is now properly superior, with the shaft sinking period nearing completion.

Though M&R Cementation’s current scope of operate runs by to about 2024, Wells believes there is a sensible prospect of the firm remaining lively at the mine for decades to arrive, provided the scale of the VUP.

In the platinum group metals industry, M&R Cementation has worked for many decades on several areas of the giant Platreef project, in close proximity to Mokopane, and is commencing its most current contract at the website, which will see it carrying out progress for the initial Phase 1 mine.

“An intriguing characteristic is that the contract will see M&R Cementation employing a battery-driven mining fleet, owned by the consumer Ivanplats, for the 1st time,” he highlights.

Even further, M&R Cementation has been fatality-totally free for about six-and-a-50 % several years. It obtained five-million fatality-no cost shifts extra than a 12 months ago and must strike the six-million mark soon.

“We attribute our achievement to our Major Incident Prevention programme, as nicely as the excellent schooling we offer at our education academy at our Bentley Park premises, near Carletonville,” claims Wells.