Mining services company Trollope Mining Services 2000 is looking to grow by revamping the way the business is operated and by extending its geographical reach, the services it offers and the resource sectors it works with.

Trollope Mining Services 2000 MD Guy Hopkins explains that although 2009 was a particularly difficult year for the company, things are looking up once again.

“The company made a strategic decision to work for an operative single client during 2009, and when the economic downturn started affecting local compa- nies, 90% of our workload was cancelled, leaving the business in dire straits,” he says. “However, we have restrategised and changed our approach to running the business and we are already reaping the benefits, with ten contracts running at present, and seven different clients.”

One of these contracts is for junior miner Continental Coal’s Vlakvarkfontein mine, with Trollope signing a three-year contract earlier this year. It is responsible for the full management of the site and all mining and crushing activities, including the delivery of 100 000 t/m of coal.

The history of Trollope Mining Services goes back to 1975, when the Trollope brothers bought a bulldozer from the army for bush clearing and dam building on the family’s farm in Thabazimbi. These activities expanded to nearby farms, followed by providing small-scale mining services in the areas during the 1980s and 1990s.

The business grew substantially and evolved into a greater mining operation with a focus on opencast mining, which saw the company relocate to Jet Park, in the East Rand of Johannesburg, followed by a move to the existing location in Bapsfontein, also on the East Rand.

“Today, it is a formidable business in the medium-sized opencast mining sector, with an estimated 400 units in our fleet,” says Hopkins, adding that the majority of its acti- vities have been in the coal sector, concentrating on the Mpumulanga, Limpopo and the North West provinces.

“Having traditionally been involved in opencast mining up to the run-of-mine stockpile stage, we plan to extend our services to include crushing, screening and washing, as well as becoming more active in other minerals including uranium, gold, copper, platinum, andalusite, iron-ore, nickel and chrome,” says Hopkins.

The company plans on getting involved in providing infrastructure-related services to the mining and private sectors, such as the construction of roads, as well as offering environmental services such as rehabilitation programmes, construction and maintenance of environmental facilities and mine closing requirements.

“We want to be in a position to offer a greater and more complete service to our customers,” says Hopkins.

Also, it will explore opportunities in the Southern African Development Community region, including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, as well as parts of West Africa, with Hopkins describing these markets as buoyant.

“We have recovered after a difficult year and believe that a number of changes that we have made in terms of the way the business is run will place it firmly on a growth path. “These changes include replacing equipment and improving overall plant availability, enhancing plant structures in terms of ownership, depreciation and maintenance and putting the appropriate people in place. “We are also bringing ‘new blood’ into the operation because ultimately it is the people who determine the success of any business,” says Hopkins. “We have restructured along more professional lines and have improved financial and reporting structures. I believe all of these factors will ensure beneficial long-term relationships with clients and a sustainable business.”

He explains that another measure aimed at streamlining the business will be separating Trollope from various associated companies which must become self- sustaining and financially independent.

“We have traditionally operated very much on a cash basis with very little backing from the financial institutions. “However, to grow the business in the short term, we need strong relationships with the banking fraternity and this is something we are working on at present,” says Hopkins.

In terms of black economic empowerment (BEE), its BEE partner Mntungwa Resources owns 30% of the company.

“Looking ahead, we intend improving our BEE rating from 8 at present, to a level of 5 within the next few months, and we will continue improving our social eco- nomic development programmes and skills development initiatives,” says Hopkins.