Tag Archives: Murray & Roberts Cementation

Murray & Roberts Cementation - Mock up

Murray & Roberts Cementation presents ‘mock-up’ facility for underground mechanised mining

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Through its new mechanised mining ‘mock-up’ facility, Murray & Roberts Cementation says it is giving equipment operators and supervisors a more realistic learning experience. This enhances safety and is more cost effective than doing this level of training on a working mine, argues Education, Training and Development Executive, Tony Pretorius.

Known for its extensive mine training offering and innovative learning approaches, Murray & Roberts Cementation says it has further raised the bar with this facility for underground mechanised mining.

Pretorius says the new installation is a quantum leap for mining-related training in Africa. Located at the Murray & Roberts Training Academy (MRTA) at the company’s Bentley Park complex near Carletonville in Gauteng, South Africa, the new facility will give a fully immersive learning experience across the underground mining value chain.

“Our new mock-up facility is as close to a real mine as you can get,” Pretorius says. “Learners experience not only the look and feel of an underground bord-and-pillar mine, but even have the smells and sounds of such an operation.”

He emphasises that this experience is a valuable next step to complement the simulated and virtual reality platforms already provided to learners at the MRTA facility. To build skills, operators need to put their theoretical learning into practice – but the pressurised production environment of a real mine is often not the ideal location.

“Rather, our new facility provides a safe and low-cost learning environment, where learners can practice their skills without hindering production or compromising safety,” Pretorius says. “At the same time, they still get the sensory experience for developing the muscle memory they require for the real-life workplace.”

Equipped with essential first-line equipment such as drill rigs and bolters, the facility also has its own machinery for loading, hauling and dumping blasted rock. The realistic environment includes ventilation systems, support structures and blasting systems.

“Learners are taken through the full value chain of mechanised mining activities, from the waiting places, entry exam and safe declaration to the installation of support and cleaning of blasted rock,” Pretorius says. “They conduct marking, drilling and indexing of the face wall, charging up with inert explosives and simulating the blast with a centralised blasting system.”

He explains that MRTA’s extended reality framework follows the situational leadership model, which places considerable value on learner participation in activities – to entrench their applied competence. Built over recent years, the facility is housed in a large covered structure 3.5-m high and covering some 1,125 sq.m. Together with its dedicated equipment, it represents an investment of over R35 million ($1.8 million), he says.

Murray & Roberts Cementation and Palabora Mining celebrate last blast at new vent shaft

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Leading underground mining contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation and its client Palabora Mining Company (PMC) have celebrated the last blast at the new ventilation shaft, which took its depth to a final 1,200 m below surface on January 9, 2024.

The 8.5-m diameter upcast vent shaft – which holed through to an already-developed return air way at depth – is vital to PMC’s Lift II project. Lift II will develop access to ore resources sufficient to extend the life of this copper mine beyond 2040. Murray & Roberts Cementation Senior Project Manager, Fred Durand, says a key achievement was the project’s fatality-free record, earned over more than a million hours worked.

“The achievement of a million fatality free hours – reached in November 2023 – is more than just a number,” Durand says. “It reflects the deep-rooted safety culture that has permeated every aspect of the project.”

The innovative sinking methods, used for the first time in South Africa, were also carefully focused on achieving zero harm. Murray & Roberts Cementation employed its Canadian shaft sinking methodology, adapted to what became called ‘the PMC way’. This method included a solution to poor ground conditions, where the sidewall of the shaft was closed up within 48 hours by means of the shaft concrete lining after every three metres of advance.

“Among the improvements that this facilitated was the removal of the hazardous work by rock drill operators at the shaft bottom, who would traditionally have to install temporary support,” Durand explains. “We also decided not to conduct concurrent work in the shaft, so there was no risk of danger to anyone below when work was carried out from the stage.”

Durand emphasised the close collaboration between Murray & Roberts Cementation and PMC to ensure the success and safety of the shaft sinking. The project was significant insofar as there were many lessons learnt to be taken forward into future projects, he says, further improving the safety record of shaft sinking practice.

“We are already looking ahead to two more important shaft sinking projects within the South African mining sector, where there is potential for certain of these learnings to be applied,” Durand says.

A veteran of over 15 shaft sinking projects around Africa during his career, Durand admits finding aspects of the PMC way initially quite unusual when he joined the project in 2022.

“Ultimately, though, we all want to deliver safe projects, so there are many brilliant ideas that we have proven on this project,” he says. “These strategies have been combined with the company’s leading mining and engineering expertise, and made us very excited about the future of shaft sinking and contract mining.”

To facilitate streamlined programming on the project, the work ran on continuous operations with two 12-hour shifts. This, he notes, improves on the usual eight-hour shift system, which requires three shift changes – each change taking up valuable project time. The two-shift system requires only a morning and evening change.

The vent shaft will replace the two existing vent shafts from the Lift I project, which are likely to be affected as they are in the Lift I zone of influence. In the final stages of the project, Murray & Roberts Cementation will strip out its services from the shaft, lift out the stage and dismantle the headgear. Final demobilisation of the company’s infrastructure will be carried out during the March quarter of 2024, according to Durand.

Murray & Roberts Cementation continues to boost mining reputation in southern Africa

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Murray & Roberts Cementation continues to add to its order book of business in southern Africa, with the company saying it is engaged in a number of projects in South Africa and having project prospects in nearby countries.

According to Graham Chamberlain, New Business Director at Murray & Roberts Cementation, the busy pipeline of projects demonstrates the mining sector’s faith in the company’s industry knowledge and depth of skills. In southern Africa, the main projects underway are at De Beers’ Venetia Mine, Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project and Palabora Mining Company.

At the Venetia Underground project near Musina, work has been ongoing since 2013 in one of the largest investments in South Africa’s diamond industry in decades. Transitioning from open-pit to underground mining will extend the mine’s life until 2046. Murray & Roberts Cementation has been engaged in sinking, lining and equipping of two shafts – the production and service shafts – to a depth of 1,080 m. The company also developed a decline tunnel and is completing associated surface and underground infrastructure, in a project whose scope included raiseboring work to establish ventilation infrastructure.

“In this maturing project, the mine is now getting into ore and starting to develop the infrastructure levels,” Chamberlain says. “At the shaft bottom, good progress continues to be made with the construction of workshops, pumping stations, silos and loading arrangements.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation is also conducting all the infrastructure development at Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project near Mokopane. This includes the sinking of a 5.1 m ventilation shaft to meet horizontal development at 950 m below surface. To achieve the high accuracy levels demanded by the project, the raiseboring equipment was guided by directional drilling technology.

“A unique aspect of this project is that the shaft will be hoisting ore at that same time as allowing upcast air to reach surface,” Chamberlain says.

Another vent shaft by Murray & Roberts Cementation – measuring 8.5 m in diameter and reaching a depth of 1,200 m – is nearing completion at Palabora Mining Company near Phalaborwa. Part of the mine’s Lift II expansion, the project has earned an impressive safety record – being fatality free and achieving 574 days without a Lost Time Injury since 2022. Ground conditions were among the reasons why a blind sink was chosen as the optimal method instead of raiseboring, as the side walls needed immediate support to prevent scaling.

“We also have a number of services projects underway related to raiseboring, grout plants and rehabilitation,” Chamberlain explains. “Much of our work in this field is focused on old infrastructure that requires maintenance, repairs or upgrades; we also conduct extensive vertical work in ore passes and silos.”

The company carries out vital rehabilitation in ore passes where ground conditions have deteriorated to prevent ore from moving smoothly – thereby risking production targets. Innovating safer techniques for this work, Murray & Roberts Cementation has developed the tube-and-fill method, first applied about seven years ago at an underground platinum mine in South Africa. These installations are also expected to outlast the lifespan of an ore pass rehabilitated with traditional shotcrete.

“On the engineering front, we continue conducting rebuilds of underground mining equipment at our Bentley Park facility near Carletonville,” Chamberlain says.

He highlights the work of the company’s design department, which remains extremely busy with feasibility studies associated with vertical work. With the renewed interest in commodity segments like copper, there is also previous work that customers are asking Murray & Roberts Cementation to review and update.

Training in underground mining and related skills at the company’s Training Academy on Carletonville continues to empower many thousands of learners each year, Chamberlain points out. This skills development is done on behalf of clients, as well as for the company’s own requirements.

“At any one time, we can host about 420 learners, and we are generally at full capacity,” he says. “We have just recently upgraded these facilities to further enhance training technologies that allows learning to take place safely but in a realistic environment.”

In compliance with many African countries’ localisation regulations, Murray & Roberts Cementation has registered companies in eight countries in the Southern African Development Community – most of which have seen the company active with raiseboring. Chamberlain notes that there are specific opportunities in Zambia that the company hopes to capitalise upon in the near future, and is encouraged by the mining sector’s progress in countries like Namibia and Botswana.

Platreef-Ivanhoe-Murray&Roberts

Murray & Roberts Cementation to accelerate ore hoisting at Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project

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In a project innovation that will allow early hoisting of ore at Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project, in South Africa, Murray & Roberts Cementation will be repurposing its 3 Shaft – a ventilation shaft – to serve a dual function.

“This is a unique project in many respects, as the shaft will be hoisting ore at that same time as allowing upcast air to reach surface,” Graham Chamberlain, New Business Director at Murray & Roberts Cementation, says. “We were able to bring our well experienced experts into the planning process to develop a safe and effective solution.”

The project has followed the sinking of the vent shaft by Murray & Roberts Cementation, which had required very accurate drilling, using raiseboring equipment guided by directional drilling technology. The 5.1-m diameter shaft meets horizontal development at a depth of 950 m below surface.

“During this process, Ivanhoe looked at bringing forward some of their ore generation activities, and this required adding hoisting capacity,” Chamberlain explains. “The timeline for their main shaft meant that it would not be able to contribute to this capacity, so a team was established to consider how to retrofit the vent shaft into an early hoisting shaft.”

As an integral part of that multidisciplinary team, Murray & Roberts Cementation conducted a feasibility study on the options, allowing for the selection of the most suitable methodology. The company also carried out the necessary designs, including winders and headgear as well as hoisting and tipping arrangements. In September 2023, the project was awarded to Murray & Roberts Cementation to implement, and is scheduled to take about two years.

“This project stands out in terms of innovation, adaptability, teamwork and design,” Chamberlain says. “With our many decades in the sector, we were able to draw on hundreds of years of experience in mining – and leverage this in our design team.”

Among the range of technical challenges is the need to work within the vent shaft while it is performing its function of channelling an upcast current of air to surface. Any blockage of the air current in the shaft would affect the development operation of the mine, so this is critical to avoid.

“There needs to be periods during which we can reduce the ventilation, but we will have to ensure that air flow is always adequate,” Chamberlain says. Another vent shaft is planned to add ventilation capacity for the future.

Chamberlain points out that it will be necessary to deal with the slight deviations in the shaft; while accurately drilled, vent shafts are not designed to the same tolerances as hoist shafts. An important aspect of the design was the steelwork required to accommodate those deviations.

“The work will be conducted by a relatively small team of our highly skilled people,” he says. “This will include the installation of a compact headgear using refurbished winders from our strategic stockholding.”

The infrastructure will employ technology that will allow man-less operation to enhance safety, using automated processes in loading and measuring functions, for instance. The project will require specialised subcontractors on much of the equipment employed, but the more day-to-day consumables are procured locally to support local businesses.

“In the absence of a supplier, we would then develop their capability through our procurement system and enterprise development commitment,” Chamberlain says. “In this way, we foster small businesses and help to nurture them until they are self-sustaining.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation highlights training evolution in mining sector

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Training within the mining sector is a fast-changing field, driven by technological advancements, evolving safety standards and the need for a more skilled workforce.

Keeping up with these demands has been the focus of the Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy near Carletonville, South Africa, combined with ongoing attention on raising safety levels in pursuit of Zero Harm.

According to Tony Pretorius, Education, Training and Development (ETD) Executive at Murray & Roberts Cementation, this has meant constantly pioneering effective strategies that build excellence and discipline in the workplace.

“An important foundation for us has been the integration of technology in our training programs, incorporating tools such as virtual and augmented reality, e-learning, and online resources,” Pretorius says. “These technologies enhance the learning experience, improve knowledge retention, and facilitate the development of digital skills essential for working with advanced mining equipment and systems.”

At the same time, he highlights the promotion of a safety culture in mining. To achieve this, the academy places a strong emphasis on cultivating a safety-first mindset among trainees. By prioritising safety in all aspects of training, the academy helps instil a culture of vigilance, risk assessment and continuous learning – aligning with best practices for workplace safety in the mining industry.

“We also ensure that our training programs align with relevant mining regulations,” Pretorius says. “This equips workers with the knowledge and skills to adhere to the latest safety guidelines while keeping their workplace compliant with regulatory requirements.”

As an example of how digital technology has been leveraged in the learning space, he points to the academy’s use of virtual and augmented reality in the training process. These immersive technologies allow trainees to experience realistic, risk-free simulations of mining environments and scenarios.

“This approach not only improves knowledge retention but also enables the identification and correction of potential mistakes before they occur in real-world situations,” he explains.

Another important aspect of the modern training approach has been towards competency-based training. Here, the focus has shifted away from the mere completion of training programs, to the more detailed assessment of competence of workers in their specific roles. The focus, therefore, is on the development of practical skills, knowledge and attitudes that lead to improved job performance and overall safety. Pretorius also points to the vital role of what were previously referred to as ‘soft skills’ – competencies which are today proving to be as important as technical skills.

“In addition to technical skills, the mining industry recognises the importance of developing skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork and problem solving,” he says. “These skills are vital for maintaining a safe working environment, especially in high risk situations where effective collaboration and decision-making can prevent accidents and save lives.”

Beyond the daily work tasks, workers are also having to become more aware of sustainability and environmental issues. This is inevitable, as the mining industry faces increased scrutiny regarding its environmental impact.

“Training programs now include modules on sustainable mining practices, resource conservation and waste management,” he says. “This helps ensure that workers are aware of their responsibilities and the role they play in minimising the industry’s environmental footprint.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation hits 1,000 m shaft sinking milestone at Palabora’s Lift II expansion project

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Leading underground mining contracting company, Murray & Roberts Cementation has achieved what it says is a remarkable milestone at the end of July 2023, successfully reaching the 1,000 metre mark on its contract to sink the 1,200 metre ventilation shaft at Palabora Mining Company’s Lift II expansion, in South Africa.

This significant feat stands as a testament to the company’s exceptional capabilities and dedication to safety, it says.

The Palabora Mining Company Lift II expansion project is a crucial endeavour for PMC, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and capacity of its operations. The 8.5-m-diameter ventilation shaft will serve the Lift II block cave and plays a pivotal role in the overall mining infrastructure.

Reaching a depth of 1,000 metres in the ventilation shaft is a major accomplishment, highlighting the expertise and commitment of Murray & Roberts Cementation in tackling complex mining projects, it says.

Fred Durand, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s Senior Project Manager, says one of the most remarkable aspects of this project is the unwavering focus on safety.

“Despite the immense challenges involved in underground mining and especially blind sinking, we have maintained an impeccable safety record throughout the Lift II expansion project,” he says. “The team’s relentless dedication to safety protocols and best practices resulted in an impressive milestone earlier this year of 574 consecutive days without a Lost Time Injury (LTI).”

He says that the achievement of this safety milestone showcases the company’s commitment to ensuring the wellbeing and safety of its workforce.

Durand concluded: “As the ventilation shaft project enters its final stages, the excitement and anticipation among all stakeholders, including PMC and Murray & Roberts Cementation, are palpable. The successful completion of this project will not only mark a significant engineering feat but will also have a profound impact on PMC’s mining capabilities.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation has aligned with the owner’s team to display technical excellence, professional management and passionate safety leadership from the day site establishment commenced in October 2019, according to Aidan Schoonbee, Senior Manager for PMC’s Lift II Construction, Concentrator and Vent Shaft.

Murray & Roberts Cementation shaft sinking alternative takes safety to a new level at PMC Lift 2

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The sinking of a 1,200 m ventilation shaft as part of the Palabora Mining Company (PMC) Lift 2 expansion in South Africa is proving to be a partnership success story, based on an unshakeable commitment to safety, according to Murray & Roberts Cementation.

PMC commissioned this new ventilation shaft – which measures 8.5 m in diameter – to service its Lift 2 block cave, awarding the project to Murray & Roberts Cementation in February 2019. Now in its final phases, the project has earned an impressive safety record; it has been fatality-free, and, last year, achieved 574 days without a Lost Time Injury (LTI), the contractor reports.

The Lift 2 project will extend mine life by more than 15 years. Originally an open-pit mine, the Palabora mine transitioned to underground block cave operations in the early 2000s when Lift 1 was commissioned. Back in February, Murray & Roberts Cementation outlined that it had recently celebrated the achievement of a major milestone – reaching the 800 m mark – at the project.

“Feasibility studies indicated that a blind sink was the optimal method, despite its higher cost and longer time frame,” Jas Malherbe, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s Project Manager, explained. “Ground conditions were among the reasons why raiseboring was not an option, as the side walls needed immediate support to prevent scaling.”

Traditionally, the shaft would be lined to within 12-18 m of the shaft bottom, with the sidewalls being temporarily supported with split sets and mesh. However, the difficult ground conditions led to high levels of scaling that made this practice unviable.

“With ground conditions being such a key challenge on the project, we responded in an innovative way by taking the shaft lining right down to the blasted face,” Malherbe says. “The shaft sinking methodology in this project is, therefore, based on the Canadian shaft sinking method pioneered by Murray & Roberts Cementation – but has been adapted to ‘the PMC way’. This has involved lining the shaft to within 1.5 m of the shaft bottom, after mucking out the waste.”

Murray & Roberts Cementation uses a specialised concrete mix for rapid setting and early strength which hardens to 3 MPa within four hours – and this would be in place for at least eight hours before blasting. This solution requires that the blast is conducted while the shutters are still in place – so the shutters are strengthened and a toe added that would better handle the blast. The exposed concrete above the shutter is able to withstand the blast, as it has already cured for 48 hours.

Malherbe explains that drilling is undertaken by two twin-boom electro-hydraulic jumbo drill rigs. These are slung down the shaft from surface and nested in the four-deck stage for drilling the shaft bottom, a procedure which is repeated for each 48 hour blast-to-blast cycle. Waste rock is lashed using an excavator with a 0.36 cu.m bucket, which is lowered from surface through the stage to shaft bottom.

After blasting, an excavator is used for loading rock from the shaft bottom, which is safer than the conventional cactus grab, according to Murray & Roberts Cementation. Ground conditions lend themselves to the generation of large rocks during blasting, which can be difficult to handle. These are broken up using an hydraulic breaker, which can be coupled to the excavator. An 11-t kibble transports the waste rock to surface.

The Lift 2 project will extend mine life by more than 15 years

“Lashing a shaft with an excavator is not a new idea, but it is usually a back-up method to the cactus grab,” Malherbe says. “In this project, we decided that the excavator would be the primary lashing method, to further enhance safety on site.”

Steps have also been taken towards automating the headgear, to avoid the safety hazards of manually hooking the kibble to tip out the waste rock. This includes the winding engine driver being able to use a camera to check for correct hooking.

“We also opted to use electric actuators in this project, rather than the traditional pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders on equipment such as the bank doors, swing chutes and tipping chutes,” Malherbe continues. “This has allowed us to mitigate the risks such as hearing loss from the noise of certain actuators, and contamination from oil leaks.”

According to Sechaba Letaba, PMC’s Package Manager on the project, PMC took a deliberate decision to prioritise safety in the sinking of this ventilation shaft.

“By taking the PMC way, we have accepted that the pace of sinking would have to be compromised,” Letaba says. “This has proved to be a positive approach, as we have an outstanding safety record on the project. This is in stark contrast to the history of shaft sinking, which would often claim lives and cause injuries. We are therefore very proud of what we have achieved to date.”

He highlights the pivotal roles played by Sam Ngidi, PMC Senior Manager Operation & Lift 2 Project, and Aidan Schoonbee, Senior Project Manager Construction – in driving the project and ensuring its success.

Fred Durand, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s Senior Project Manager, points out that unexpected challenges tend to have an impact on scheduling, so the strong relationship of trust with PMC was vital to solving any issues as they arose.

“Our approach has always been to work closely with customers on solutions, and to ensure they are regularly updated on progress,” Durand says. “As a team, for instance, we decided that the rock breaker was the right solution for the issue of oversized rocks, and it was accepted that this would have an impact on the cycle times.”

Similarly, encountering more challenging ground conditions than expected required a significant mindset change about how the team approached the project.

“With the supportive relationship between PMC and Murray & Roberts Cementation, we were able to agree on the necessary remedies and adjust the timeframe to suit our priority – which was safety,” he says.

Malherbe concludes that, for Murray & Roberts Cementation, the lessons learnt on this project have shown the industry a viable alternative method of shaft sinking that takes safety to a new level.

Murray & Roberts Cementation hits the accuracy mark on Platreef ventilation shaft development

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Murray & Roberts Cementation is helping Ivanplats deliver the Platreef project in South Africa through the provision of drilling services at the ventilation shaft.

The dual purpose use of the new ventilation shaft at Ivanplats’ Platreef project required extreme pilot hole accuracy, according to Murray & Roberts Cementation.

The vent shaft, or Shaft 3, which meets horizontal development at a depth of 950 m, also needs to be equipped with a hoist and rope guides to carry personnel in the case of emergency. The rope guides for the hoist require the shaft to be drilled vertically within tight parameters. According to Dirk Visser, Senior Project Manager at Murray & Roberts Cementation, this meant offering the client minimal deflection of the pilot hole using a continuous steering tool.

“Using the well-proven German-designed-and-manufactured Micon, Rotary Vertical Drilling System (RVDS), we were able to achieve the set parameters required for a rope guide installation,” Visser says. “The worst deflection was no more than 0.05% – or 452 mm – and, by the time we bottomed out, the deviation was only 0.02% or 226 mm off centre over a final drilling depth of 950 m.”

Micon’s specialised RVDS is a continuous self-steering tool working on a close loop system which steers the tool using two-axis gyro inclination sensors that activate the hydraulic steering system. It can determine in real time if there is any deviation from the vertical course, and communicate this information to the operator on surface via pressure waves in the drilling water by converting the pressure waves into information through transducers, according to the company.

The Murray & Roberts Cementation drilling team not only ensured accurate directional results, but also optimised the performance of the RVDS. By keeping an eye on key variables like voltage levels and water cleanliness.

Visser highlights that drilling to these tolerances with this highly technical equipment demands a very experienced team. On this project, for instance, the most ‘junior’ person has worked with the RVDS for 15 years, while another member has 28 years of experience in raiseboring.

Platreef is owne 64% by Ivanhoe Mines. A 26% interest is held by Ivanplats’ historically disadvantaged, broad-based, black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partners, while a Japanese consortium of ITOCHU Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, and Japan Gas Corporation, owns a 10% interest in Ivanplats.

In May, Ivanhoe Mines said that underground development work had been focused on the vertical development of waste passes between the 750-m, 850-m and 950-m levels, and lateral development towards the orebody, as well as lateral development required for underground infrastructure on each level including access to the bottom of Shaft 3 on the 950-m level. Shaft 3, with a diameter of 5.1 m, is currently being reamed with approximately 150 m of 950 m completed to date, it said. Planned completion was scheduled for the December quarter of 2023.

Platreef’s commercial production is expected in 2024, with Shaft 2 now expected to be commissioned in 2027. The initial scope of the phased development plan is to fast-track Platreef into production, starting with an initial 700,000-t/y underground mine using the existing Shaft 1 and a new on-site concentrator. Platfreef, Ivanhoe says, is projected to be Africa’s lowest-cost producer of platinum-group metals, nickel, copper and gold.

Murray & Roberts Cementation hits shaft sinking milestone at Palabora

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The Murray & Roberts Cementation shaft sinking team responsible for delivering a new ventilation shaft at Palabora Copper Mine (PMC) recently celebrated the achievement of a major milestone – reaching the 800 m mark.

This milesttone represents two-thirds of the shaft’s final depth of 1,200 m.

The ventilation shaft forms part of the copper producer’s Lift II project, which will extend mine life by more than 15 years. Originally an open-pit mine, the Palabora mine transitioned to underground block cave operations in the early 2000s when Lift 1 was commissioned.

PMC is located within Phalaborwa, in the Limpopo province of South Africa, and the extension of the life of mine will increase shareholders’ value and sustain jobs and livelihoods of the surrounding communities, according to the company. The mine has also initiated several wildlife management programs to minimise the impact of its operations on the environment as well as promote the harmonious co-existence of people, industry and wildlife.

Murray & Roberts Cementation’s contract to sink the 8.5-m diameter shaft was awarded in February 2019. According to Fred Durand, the company’s Senior Project Manager, the shaft sinking is currently making good progress, with 40-or-more lined metres of advance being completed on average each month.

“Shaft sinking operations should be completed by the end of this year with final handover of the shaft to our client, PMC, taking place at the end of the first (March) quarter of 2024,” he says.

Ground conditions have presented a challenge on the project. This has resulted in the shaft lining being taken right down to the blasted face, says Jas Malherbe, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s on-site Project Manager.

“Normally, we would line the shaft to within 12 to 18 m of shaft bottom and support the sidewalls temporarily with split sets and mesh,” he explains. “In practice, this did not prove viable, prompting us to change our approach. The method we’ve adopted is unconventional but has proven to be highly effective.”

Drilling is undertaken by two twin-boom Komatsu electro-hydraulic jumbo drill rigs. These are slung down the shaft from surface and nested in the four-deck stage for drilling the shaft bottom, a procedure which is repeated for each 48-hour blast-to-blast cycle.

Another key piece of equipment is a Komatsu excavator with a 0.3 cu.m bucket. It is lowered from surface through the stage to shaft bottom and is used for lashing. All the waste rock is loaded into a 11 t kibble, which transports it to surface.

The ground conditions at the shaft are such that blasting tends to produce large rocks that can be difficult to handle.

Malherbe said: “We break these up using the excavator, which has a quick coupler which allows it be fitted with a hydraulic breaker within a few minutes.”

The methods being used at Palabora are based on the Canadian shaft-sinking method Murray & Roberts Cementation has pioneered in South Africa at its Venetia mine contract for De Beers Group.

“We have adapted the method because of the very different conditions we’re facing but many elements remain the same or are very similar,” Malherbe said. “In particular, the high degree of safety offered by the Canadian method has not in any way been compromised.”

The number of Murray & Roberts Cementation personnel deployed per shift is 25. The total labour complement on site is currently just over 120 people, 46% of them recruited from local communities.

Murray & Roberts Cementation has a vigorous CSI program running in conjunction with its contract. It is being implemented in close association with PMC and has mainly focused on supporting local schools in the Phalaborwa area with infrastructure such as ablution facilities, fences, water storage tanks and boreholes.

Durand said: “In addition, we have trained nearly 80 youths from local communities at our Bentley Park Training Academy, near Carletonville. Another 20 are currently undergoing training. This program is giving them skills which are in high demand in mining, and which could lead to them securing permanent employment within the mining industry.”

Japie du Plessis to lead Murray & Roberts Cementation

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Underground mining contractor, Murray & Roberts Cementation, has named Japie du Plessis as Managing Director Designate, taking up the MD position on March 1, 2023.

Du Plessis will succeed the current MD, Mike Wells, who retires at the end of February next year.

Wells’ retirement will mark the end of a career in mining spanning 39 years. After studying Mining Engineering at Wits and graduating in 1981, he spent the first 10 years of his career working for the gold division of Anglo American at the Elandsrand (now Kusasalethu), TauTona and President Brand gold mines.

He joined Cementation Africa in 1994, a company which was subsequently acquired by Murray & Roberts in 2005 and merged with its existing mining contracting arm, RUC, to form Murray & Roberts Cementation.

His move to Cementation brought him into project work and in particular the sinking of the 3-km deep, 9-m diameter twin shafts of the South Deep gold mine, representing, at the time, the biggest shaft sinking contract ever agreed anywhere in the world. The project extended over nine years from start to finish, with Wells acting as Project Manager for part of this period, which he regards as one of the highlights of his career.

While engaged on the project, Wells was involved in devising and constructing a concrete plug to seal off a major water intersection encountered during shaft sinking. A technical paper he wrote in on the methodology adopted earned him the Association of Mine Managers Gold Medal for the best paper of the year in 1997.

After successively serving as Senior Projects Manager, Project Executive and Technical Director, Wells was appointed MD of Murray & Roberts Cementation in 2017. Over his tenure, the company has gone from strength to strength, confirming its status as one of the world’s leading mining contracting organisations, it said. A particular achievement that he takes great pride in is the company’s safety record – it has now gone eight years without a single fatality and recently celebrated six million fatality-free shifts.

In du Plessis, Murray & Roberts Cementation has found a successor to Wells with a similar depth of technical and management expertise, it says.

A Mechanical Engineer, he has spent most of his career in mining. His first assignment after graduating was at Anglo American Platinum’s Amandebult mine, where he worked his way up to the position of section engineer. He then left for a two-year stint with a sugar company in Mpumalanga before joining Murray & Roberts Cementation in 2008. He has been with the company ever since.

Contracts he has been involved with over the years he has been with Murray & Roberts Cementation include Paardekraal 2 shaft and Impala 20 shaft, both in the platinum sector, the Wessels manganese mine, the Booysendal platinum mine and the Cullinan diamond mine. Positions he has occupied include Site Engineer, Contracts Engineer, Senior Project Manager, Engineering Manager and Project Executive.

Over the past seven years, he has had special responsibility for the Venetia Underground Project (VUP) of De Beers, one of Murray & Roberts Cementation’s flagship contracts.

Du Plessis was selected by a panel within Murray & Roberts Cementation that considered both external and internal candidates.

“He was by far the best qualified for the position,” Wells said. “His experience is second to none and he has mining contracting in his DNA. The fact that he is an internal candidate is a further advantage as he has a thorough understanding of how the company works and the culture that drives it.”

Looking ahead, Du Plessis says one of his prime objectives will be to extend the company’s African footprint as the majority of its work is currently in South Africa (although it does have raiseboring contracts in progress in Zambia, Tanzania and Burkina Faso). He will also work to ensure that it stays at the forefront of the move by the mining industry towards ‘green’ mining, digitalisation and automation.

Murray & Roberts Cementation is the African arm of Murray & Roberts’ global mining platform, which also includes operations in the Americas and Australia. The platform is headed by Mike da Costa, who is based in Perth in Australia.