Shaft Sinkers Holdings, the international shaft sinking and underground construction group, has announced that it has been awarded a new major contract in the Bhilwara district of India. The contract, from Vedanta Group-owned Hindustan Zinc, includes the sinking of the main shaft as well as the north and south ventilation shafts at the Rampura Agucha mine, located in the Bhilwara district which is in the state of Rajasthan in Western India.

The contract has already commenced and is scheduled to be completed in 2017. The company also said that the contract is in line with management expectations for new works to be secured during the year. After taking into consideration the total revenue from this contract award the Shaft Sinkers order book now stands at £401 million. Alon Davidov, Chief Executive, said: “This is a significant development for Shaft Sinkers and an important step in our international growth strategy. The contract award from Hindustan Zinc Ltd is particularly pleasing, given its dominant position in India and the potential future opportunities that may arise.”

The group specialises in vertical shaft sinking with a focus on particularly deep and/or wide vertical shafts. It has the capability to sink shafts through all types of rock strata, including running sands and clay. Aside from the new Hindustan Zinc contract, major current projects and customers include the Shaft 16 and 17 complexes for Impala Platinum; Leeukop for Afplats; the Styldrift project for Anglo Platinum and Royal Bafokeng Resources; Lonmin’s Karee 3, Hossy and Saffy shafts; the Hernic Ferrochrome project; and the Moab project for AngloGold Ashanti.