Tag Archives: shaft lining

Murray & Roberts’ Cementation Americas business wins Rio and BHP contracts

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Murray & Roberts’ Cementation Americas business has confirmed two new mining contracts with Rio Tinto and BHP.

Cementation USA secured the Underground Characterisation Development and Infrastructure project in Utah for Rio Tinto’s Kennecott copper operations (open pit, pictured). The value of this agreement is circa-$70 million, with the initial scope including lateral development and associated infrastructure works.

Rio, only last month, approved a $108 million investment in underground development to enable early orebody access and undertake orebody characterisation studies for underground mining at the Kennecott copper operations.

The contract award positions Cementation USA well for the potential significant scope growth on this project, Murray & Roberts said.

Cementation Canada Inc has secured the completion of Phase 1 of the Jansen potash project in the province of Saskatchewan for BHP. This scope includes the post liner excavation, steel and equipping of the shaft.

The value of the complete project award, subject to a sanction decision for the project, is around $170 million. Cementation Canada has, in the interim, received a works order to proceed with the first work package to the value of $12 million.

BHP said last month that it expected to make a decision on whether to move forward with Jansen, which is expected to produce 4.4 Mt/y of potash in its first phase, in the next two months.

Cementation Canada will apply to also deliver the following phases of the Jansen project, Murray & Roberts noted.

Murray & Roberts said: “During the past year, mining companies in the Americas have experienced prolonged COVID-19 impact, creating short-term order book pressure for engineering and contracting companies. These awards are evidence of new mining investments returning to the region.

“The forecast improvement in capital investment in the mining industry is encouraging and, considering the platform’s leading global position and growing near term project pipeline, there is good potential for accelerated growth for the group’s mining platform.”

BHP commits another $272 million for shaft lining at Jansen potash project

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BHP has agreed to invest another $272 million in the Jansen Stage 1 potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada, following challenges encountered with placement of the shaft lining and more recent impacts from the company’s COVID-19 response plan.

Up until this point, BHP had committed to spending $2.7 billion on the project.

BHP said in its September quarter results: “As a consequence of the challenges encountered earlier with placement of the shaft lining and then the more recent impacts from our COVID-19 response plan, the board has approved additional funding of $272 million for the completion of the shafts, resulting in a total budget of $3.0 billion (previously $2.7 billion).”

This is expected to result in the excavation and lining of the 7.3 m diameter production (975 m deep) and service (1,005 m deep) shafts – sunk by DMC Mining using Herrenknecht’s Shaft Boring Roadheader – and the installation of essential surface infrastructure and utilities.

Back in August, the company said it would not decide on an investment in the full Stage 1 project until mid-2021, a delay on the February 2021 deadline it previously advised of. This was down to the shaft lining problem.

The current Stage 1 plan, which is 86% complete and has an expected capital outlay of $5.3-5.7 billion, involves building out initial capacity of 4.3-4.5 Mt/y of potash, with expansion optionality.

BHP added: “Jansen Stage 1 remains well positioned with attractive medium to longer-term commodity fundamentals, and is set to be a high-margin, low-cost, long-life asset, with multiple, basin-wide, expansion opportunities. As always, we will be disciplined about our entry into the market and it must pass our strict Capital Allocation Framework tests.”

M&R Cementation ready to make shaft sinking transition at Palabora copper mine

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The sinking of the 1,200-m deep ventilation shaft at Palabora Copper, in South Africa, is proceeding apace, notwithstanding the COVID-19 shutdown and restrictions, contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation reports.

Work began on the 8.5 m diameter shaft early in 2019, with pre-sinking recently reaching a depth of 50 m and the changeover from pre-sink to main sink almost complete, according to Murray & Roberts Cementation Project Executive Mine Development, Graham Chamberlain.

Part of the development of Palabora Copper’s new LIFT II underground block cave mining area, the shaft will be developed to a final blind sink depth of 1,190 m, with a drop raise to its final depth. Completion is expected in the September quarter of 2022, Murray & Roberts Cementation says.

“We were required by the client and national lockdown regulations to pause our work schedule, but operations resumed as planned when restrictions were relaxed,” Chamberlain said. “The priority is to ensure that safe working conditions are maintained, and the COVID-19 infections are avoided.”

The project is using automated machinery at the shaft bottom, removing employees from high-risk contact areas. Modern, high-penetration rate hydraulic drills are deployed on robotic arms nested on the shaft sinking stage. This allows operators to conduct drilling at any position in the shaft without physically being in contact with the drills, the company says.

“We shorten our cycle times with the use of explosive delivery pods containing sensitised emulsion,” Chamberlain said. “Electronic systems deliver real-time data on blast holes numbers, volumes and pressures, improving blasting efficiency and quality.”

To reduce potential disruption from the intersection of poor ground conditions, Murray & Roberts Cementation takes the shaft lining to the bottom of the shaft during sinking. In the past, industry practice tended to carry this lining to about 20 m from the bottom.

“Our lining approach is applied with the use of a modified version of the traditional shuttering, and our specialised concrete mixes which we design for this specific purpose,” Chamberlain explained. “The mixes are prepared and delivered by our on-site batch plant.”

Chamberlain adds that the company’s focus on Zero Harm and a rigorous safety regime continues to deliver a high level of safety on the project.