Murray & Roberts Cementation is celebrating 21 years of growth and transformation since the merger of Murray & Roberts RUC and The Cementation Company (Africa) in July 2004. Over the past 21 years, the company has evolved into a global leader in contract mining services expanding beyond traditional contracting to a high-tech value-driven provider of mining solutions.

New Business Director, Graham Chamberlain, reflects on the company’s bold direction highlighting its commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies, enhancing safety and continuing to expand its footprint across Africa. Today, Murray & Roberts Cementation operates in Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Ghana, ensuring a robust presence to serve the continent’s growing mining sector.

“As a leader in the contract mining sector and in particular in shaft sinking operations, we have a strong safety record,” Chamberlain says. As an indication of its safety commitment, in December 2024 Murray & Roberts Cementation achieved 8 million fatality free shafts – spanning a dozen years.

Further since 2001, Chamberlain says that the company has sunk 21 shafts—15 of them since 2012—totalling an impressive 15,000 metres of vertical sinking. Additionally, it has completed 72,000 metres of raise drilling, averaging 300 metres per month.

A key component of this success is the Rotary Vertical Drilling System (RVDS), which has been deployed on 93 projects. This advanced drilling technology achieved 99.95% accuracy on a 950 metre ventilation shaft at Ivanplats’ Platreef project in Limpopo, with only a 500 cm deviation.

Pioneering New Mining Technologies

With the decline in mining sector R&D investment over the past two decades, Murray & Roberts Cementation has proactively partnered with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to test and apply the latest safety and efficiency technologies. A standout collaboration is with Herrenknecht, a global leader in mechanised tunnelling, to develop caisson shaft sinking methods with a roadheader. This approach enables pre-sinking or shallow shaft sinking up to 300 metres deep and 20 metres wide - without human presence in the shaft.

The company is also advancing mechanised tabular reef extraction and blind boring, focusing on rapid deployment and minimising worker exposure. Training methodologies have been modernised through the use of simulation, virtual reality and underground mock-up facilities to enhance skills development at the Murray & Roberts Training Academy at Bentley Park, near Carletonville.

Training the Next Generation of Miners

“A core element of our success is the company’s commitment and dedication to training, through our world class training academy. This facility plays a crucial role in bridging skills gaps in the mining sector, offering artisanal, supervisory and management training including the courses necessary for the blasting ticket and other government tickets of competency,” Chamberlain says.

This world class facility also hosts official blasting ticket examinations conducted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).

Delivering Sustainable Mining Solutions

Beyond its technical and operational excellence, Murray & Roberts Cementation remains committed to social initiatives with various education-focused initiatives conducted over the years – from hardware in schools to supporting sanitary pads campaigns in poor communities, so that girls do not miss any schooling. Investments have been made in borehole drilling for groundwater and even a mobile science and mathematics laboratory for schools – made available through the whole Murray & Roberts group.

“As Murray & Roberts Cementation continues to expand its African footprint, we remain dedicated to innovation, safety and skills development. With fully incorporated structures in key mining regions, we are well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of the mining sector and drive sustainable growth in the years to come, Chamberlain concludes.