A consortium of investors led by Differential Capital recently acquired, following a business rescue process, all the former mining assets of Murray & Roberts Ltd. The mining assets include Murray & Roberts Cementation Pty Ltd, which carries on business as a mining contractor in Africa, as well as Cementation USA, Cementation Canada, and Terra Nova Technologies Inc, all of which are providers of mining contracting services.
As of July 1, 2025, in a defining moment for one of Africa’s most respected underground mining contractors, as part of this evolution, Murray & Roberts Cementation has now officially rebranded as Cementation Africa. The company says this new name signals the start of an exciting and independent future. It adds that coinciding with its 21st anniversary, the rebrand reflects not only a proud legacy but also a renewed drive to innovate, expand and deliver even greater value to the continent’s mining sector.
Japie du Plessis, Managing Director of Cementation Africa
“Turning 21 is not just a symbolic coming of age – it is a powerful inflection point for the business,” says Japie du Plessis, Managing Director of Cementation Africa. “As an organisation we have a solid foundation built on more than five decades of trust, technical excellence and safe project delivery. Now, as Cementation Africa, we step into the future with greater agility, independence and focus.”
While the name has changed, the company’s leadership team, skilled personnel and values remain firmly in place. Cementation Africa said that clients and partners can continue to expect the same high standards of safety, performance and professionalism for which the company is known.
Formed in 2004 through the merger of Murray & Roberts RUC and The Cementation Company (Africa), the business has grown well beyond its origins as a conventional mining contractor. Over the past two decades, it has delivered more than 15,000 m of vertical shaft sinking and 72,000 m of raiseboring, averaging 300 m per month. These achievements have been made possible through the use of advanced technologies, such as the Rotary Vertical Drilling System (RVDS).
A standout application of this technology is the 950 m deep ventilation shaft at Ivanplats’ Platreef project in Limpopo, which recorded a deviation of just 0.5% over nearly a kilometre -a world class result.
The company’s in-house mine engineering team plays a critical role in shaping these outcomes. From mine design and infrastructure layout to construction sequencing and execution planning, the team ensures every project is underpinned by robust technical and operational foundations. Their close integration with project teams and use of digital modelling tools enables smarter faster decision making and reduces risk across the project lifecycle.
While the name has changed, Cementation Africa’s passion for people, performance and partnership remains unchanged
Cementation Africa has also built a strong reputation for its role in complex greenfield mining projects, supporting clients from development through to operational readiness. “These transitional contracts are complex and challenging, and we take great pride in having completed several of them successfully,” adds du Plessis.
The company’s fully accredited Training Academy at Bentley Park remains central to its strategy and social investment. As the only facility of its kind on the continent, it plays a vital role in addressing skills shortages across the sector – offering training for artisans, supervisors and managers, and hosting blasting ticket examinations on behalf of the Department of Mineral Resources.
To further boost safety and productivity, Cementation Africa actively partners with OEMs to test and implement the latest technologies. One example is its collaboration with Herrenknecht of Germany which has introduced mechanised caisson shaft sinking using roadheaders allowing for shaft development of up to 300 m without a single worker entering the shaft.
“We are focused on technologies that remove people from high risk areas while increasing deployment speed,” says du Plessis. “From mechanised reef extraction to blind boring with mobile rigs, it is all about safer, faster and smarter mining.”
This forward-thinking approach extends to training where simulation and virtual reality are incorporated alongside underground mock-up facilities to enhance learning and preparedness.
Safety remains non-negotiable. Du Plessis emphasises that it is a value embedded in every aspect of the business. The company recently celebrated an industry-leading 8 million fatality free shifts over a 12 year period – a milestone that reflects Cementation Africa’s rigorous protocols, investment in people and culture of shared accountability.
Looking ahead, Cementation Africa is actively expanding its footprint across the continent with fully incorporated business structures already in place in key markets. “We are strategically positioning ourselves to support more mining clients in countries such as Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Ghana,” concludes du Plessis. “While our name has changed, our commitment to performance, partnership and people remains as strong as ever.”
IM Editorial Director Paul Moore caught up with Japie Du Plessis, Cementation Africa MD, to get more insight into the potential of the new company going forward, and the existing strengths it will build on.
Q In what ways has the transaction brought Cementation Africa new agility and independence than before?
It is public knowledge that the Cementation mining business was having to inject a lot of its working capital into Murray & Roberts Ltd – which for some time had been facing severe liquidity constraints. The new owners led by Differential Capital are very supportive, and they believe in this mining business and the ability of the management team. It will really enable the business to return to a more entrepreneurial, less corporate perspective in terms of mining innovation and technology – it brings an altogether new dynamic.
Q The investment group has also acquired Cementation Americas and Terra Nova Technologies – did you have cooperation and synergies with these entities and will this continue?
Yes, over many years we’ve developed good relationships with our colleagues in the US and Canada and where it made sense we have shared expertise, such as in implementing certain technologies. We often share resources where possible between our companies, and we will continue to do so. From a global branding perspective there is also a big improvement in that all the businesses will now operate under the Cementation brand. We continuously engage with each other where we think there are opportunities and synergies and I think now as a pure mining business we will be working even more closely than we have in the past. Up to now we’ve been Murray & Roberts Cementation and mainly operating under Murray & Roberts branding so a unified Cementation brings brand uniformity across the different areas where we operate.
Through strategic OEM partnerships, Cementation Africa is implementing technologies that remove workers from high-risk environments
Q Can you comment on some of the strengths and capabilities that Cementation Africa has in the mining market and that you would want to emphasise as part of this transition?
I want to highlight firstly that in December 2024 we achieved 8 million fatality free shifts, which is something that we extremely proud of. It’s been a 12-year journey for us and we continue to work hard every day on safe outcomes. It doesn’t just happen; it’s a constant effort, from basic training to entrenching a culture of safety. Also, and related to safety, I would emphasise our training expertise – at our Bentley Park training academy we have carried out more than 10,000 training interventions. Most notably, over the last five years that includes training almost 230 learner miners – some of these are internal, but most of them are external candidates. We have also conducted almost 4,000 trackless mobile machine training interventions, for operator training and licensing, which is also contributing to filling the skills gap in the mining industry and specifically in South Africa. And around 6,000 individuals have undergone working at heights training. All these training interventions stack up to help allow us to operate safely. Moving on to shaft sinking, I think over the past two decades as a business we’ve sunk more than 15,000 m of shaft and have completed more than 72,000 m of raise drilling. Over the past decade we have also executed one of the biggest underground mining capital projects in South Africa in the form of the Venetia underground mine, and I think what makes this project so much more special for us is apart it being a world class project, we did it by employing local people. It included the building of an entire underground mine, which included the sinking, equipping and commissioning of a decline shaft and two vertical shafts, including horizontal tunnel development to provide access to, and the establishment of, loading levels, as well as associated ventilation, ground and water handling infrastructure. Those local people were from an area where there are no existing mining operations, and so they had no knowledge of underground mining. Putting them through our Training Academy, we equipped them and assisted them to get the necessary experience to execute the project. That means we have had a lasting impact on that community and around that mine. Overall, if you look at the amount of vertical shafts that were sunk in South Africa over the last 15-20 years, I think Cementation Africa has been contracted to do the lion’s share of those, and we have completed them safety and efficiently. It’s all about the culture and the belief of every single individual in the business, not only the management teams. Its all the more impressive in that we don’t do a lot of routine work. We do shaft sinking, capital development, massive excavations, and extensive underground construction activities.
Q Are there some areas that you’re going to be able to look at more deeply now that you have that greater capital independence, like electric fleet and collision avoidance?
Actually we were the first operators of an electric fleet in underground operations in South Africa using a BEV fleet supplied by Epiroc for a development project we executed in South Africa’s Limpopo province. So, we do take on new technology whenever we can. We’ve also got great partners in collision avoidance. I would say overall, with our new independence, the requirement is definitely there to build the business and to grow the business and get back to a position where we can invest in it. And that will include expanding on our use of new technologies where appropriate. Differential Capital are well known for utilising new technology, particularly AI, and I’m sure that they’ll be challenging us to think outside the box.
Q Another one of your strengths is equipment rebuilding and remanufacturing – is that an area you will also continue to build on?
The challenging mining environments in South Africa throw up a lot of remanufacturing opportunities, so our rebuilding facility out in Bentley Park near Carletonville continues to do exceptional work. Plus, they don’t only rebuild for our own use; machines are rebuilt for a number of clients to their OEM specifications. We also get the OEM to come and inspect the machines once we’re done and they also give them their stamp of approval on the quality of work that we do there. I think it’s important that the market knows essentially it’s the same business with the same management team and I think that’s what makes this opportunity so much more exciting – the fact that our new owners believe in the business, but they also believe in the management team. And so essentially, faces won’t change – our clients will continue to work with the individuals that they’ve gotten to know over many years and we’ll continue to build on those relationships as well as expanding on new relationships.
Q The release also references expansion beyond South Africa, in countries like Botswana, DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Can you give me an idea of existing experience outside of South Africa and any new plans in place for how that expansion might play out?
We’ve already executed projects in in many African countries including Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Ghana. We still actually have a footprint in Zimbabwe and in Burkina Faso. In Zimbabwe, for example, we are doing some raise drilling work there. And about a year ago we re-entered and re-established boots on the ground in Zambia. Zambia has been a jurisdiction that has been really good to us in the past. And the business is now picking up there; we’ve been awarded a shaft contract with Mopani Copper Mines and also doing some design work for them. We have tendered work with Vedanta on some development and sinking work that they need at KCM and we hope to be partnering with them in the future. Botswana and the DRC are also two jurisdictions where we are also pursuing a lot of opportunities. However, there remain really great opportunities in in South Africa, especially in the in the platinum group metals space. So, we are as excited about the mining opportunities in South Africa as we are in sub-Saharan Africa. The next year or so will be challenging for us, but we are confident we will return to our previous strong position in the market.