With many openpit mines in Southern Africa reaching maturity, the scope for underground mining promises to create new opportunities for shaft sinking and underground mining specialists. As a leader in this field for many years, Murray & Roberts Cementation has been busy with complex and long-term projects, reinforcing its safety performance and honing its innovative practices and technologies.

According to Murray & Roberts Cementation MD Japie du Plessis, the current market looks full of potential.

“Among our differentiators has always been our depth of expertise and experience, with many of our people having served up to 35 to 40 years with us,” he says, adding that what makes Murray & Roberts Cementation most proud in recent years is how it has continued to pioneer safe execution in a field which is known for its risks and hazards.

The company reached a significant safety milestone this month when it achieved eight-million fatality-free shifts, over a period during which it sunk numerous shafts for mining companies in Southern Africa.

Underpinning this safety record is a substantial and ongoing investment in skills, he notes, driven by the Murray & Roberts Training Academy at Bentley Park, near Carletonville, in Gauteng.

“Safety is at the core of our extensive range of training interventions in shaft sinking and trackless mining,” he explains, adding that the company’s blended learning methodologies, particularly its mock-up facilities, are recognised as benchmarks for the industry. “Many mines visit Bentley Park to learn from what we have developed.”

He highlights the way the company has engineered safety into all its processes, systems and equipment, based on a thorough analysis of past incidents.

This has allowed the safe deployment of innovative shaft sinking methods and spurs on continuous improvement in designs and methodologies.

“Each project brings its own challenges and working conditions, so we apply our tailored approach to the specific needs of the customer,” says Du Plessis. This could include solving construction challenges underground, developing appropriate mining methods for underground crusher chambers or finding solutions for hoisting.

Among its recent projects was the innovative adaptation of a ventilation shaft to include hoisting infrastructure that would operate where air is required to move at high velocities.

There have also been shaft sinking contracts, including a recent 1 200 m shaft, where conventional methods failed to deliver results owing to the poor quality of ground conditions.

The skills development capabilities in Murray & Roberts Cementation adds a vital sustainability element to its contract mining work, which has recently included numerous projects in platinum and coal.

The training and knowledge sharing with customers’ people lays the necessary groundwork for in-house mining to continue productively after hand-over.