Whereas contractors are employed primarily to execute initiatives on behalf of mining firms and challenge homes, skilled underground mining specialists like Murray & Roberts Cementation additionally provide invaluable insights from earlier phases of improvement.
“Over the a long time, we’ve got discovered that our early engagement with purchasers supplies many important alternatives to optimise their concepts and plans,” Graham Chamberlain, New Enterprise Director at Murray & Roberts Cementation, says. “Particularly within the shaft sinking section – which is extremely capital intensive – the satan is within the element, and there are lots of points to think about when working to realize a streamlined and price efficient course of.”
Chamberlain highlights how the corporate is commonly engaged within the very early days of a challenge, to work with the shopper proper from the idea and design phases. Usually, third-party consultants even use Murray & Roberts Cementation to conduct challenge designs, he says, as this creates a extra seamless move into the execution stage.
“Our method is to work with the shopper on creating a variety of choices for every facet of the challenge,” Chamberlain explains. “This supplies a broader scope of what’s potential, with every choice being mentioned within the gentle of the shopper’s objectives; these alternate options will be steadily whittled right down to the 2 or three finest, in order that an intensive comparability will be carried out to make a remaining choice.”
A shaft design, for instance, is a central issue within the profitable efficiency of a mining operation – not simply at its begin however over its whole lifecycle. Whereas it could be thought of possible to scale back the diameter of shaft within the starting stage to scale back capital prices, a extra far-sighted view will expose the constraints that such a call will create for the mine’s future.
“Expertise in crushing, milling and processing is at all times evolving, and plenty of mines can improve this infrastructure to generate extra income,” Chamberlain says. “Nevertheless, such modifications shall be restricted to 10-15% enhancements if shaft capability is at its restrict. The shaft design due to this fact must accommodate the long term objectives of the mine – the place market demand might enable throughput to develop in orders of magnitude.”
He emphasises the significance of understanding native situations – each regulatory and bodily – in managing threat on shaft sinking, improvement and contract mining initiatives. The place there are necessities for native procurement and hiring, as an illustration, the corporate has aligned its insurance policies and developed intensive expertise placing these into follow. These social and labour rules, that are effectively established in South Africa, are additionally being utilized throughout Africa and even in some South American international locations.
Each challenge needs to be considered a ‘monument’ to the efforts of the developer, he explains, and due to this fact wants to depart a powerful and optimistic legacy. This extends past the structural parts to the livelihoods, expertise and prosperity of native communities. Murray & Roberts Cementation actively contributes to those developmental points, not least by its well-resourced coaching academy.
“Price and productiveness are key parts of success in our line of labor, so threat must be fastidiously managed to supply the perfect end result,” he says. “Many contractors working globally in our discipline are usually not conversant in the distinctive necessities of the African market, and consequently, they typically battle to optimise price and productiveness elements on this area.”
Innovation additionally underpins the enter that Murray & Roberts Cementation makes in planning for initiatives, Chamberlain continues. That is as a lot about creating new methodologies as it’s about leaving others behind. Daring steps have been taken to seek out safer alternate options in gear use; the cactus seize – traditionally a staple merchandise on any shaft sinking web site – is now not employed, as an illustration.
“We tailored Canadian practices right into a Murray & Roberts technique of shaft sinking – utilizing an understage-mounted excavator arm – to wash after blasts,” he says. “That is all a part of a no-compromise method to security on our websites, which we share with purchasers as a part of our preliminary discussions on scheduling, prices and productiveness.”
A essential value-add from the corporate’s early engagement with purchasers is its intensive library or database of classes learnt and applied sciences utilized. This institutional data, which dates again a long time, can then be suitably ‘packaged’ by skilled practitioners who’re consultants of their discipline. He notes that one concept by itself isn’t going remedy the varied challenges that every challenge faces.
“Our work within the mining atmosphere is advanced, and should deal with issues from hoisting and logistics to security elements and floor situations,” he says. “The worth of expertise can’t be overstated, and requires cautious consideration of all of the choices.”