Partnerships

Enduring partnerships have been an important feature of Murray & Roberts’ greatest achievements. Robust pays tribute to the Group’s most valued partners: its clients and its people.

LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH GLOBAL MINING GIANTS

Internationally recognised as the world’s leading mining contracting company, Murray & Roberts Cementation has forged strong relationships with all major players in today’s African mining arena, across a spectrum of commodities.

Anglo American is a long-standing key client and Murray & Roberts Cementation has an impressive track record with Anglo’s major divisions, primarily in the platinum sector, through prestige projects involving deepening existing operations or establishing greenfields operations. On the platinum projects, Murray & Roberts Cementation has drawn from its abundant service offering, from shaft sinking and mine infrastructural development, to specialised mining activities. The company has also completed several greenfields Anglo Coal projects, establishing mine access to the coal horizon through decline operations, with vertical ventilation shafts, using state-of-the-art raise boring equipment.

South Deep Gold Mine – Witwatersrand Basin.

Murray & Roberts Cementation’s contract mining relationship with Aquarius Platinum has been ongoing for more than a decade, with the company today regarded as the preferred outsource contractor for all Aquarius mining operations. Impala Platinum, Lonmin and Northam Platinum also fall into the key client category, following several successful shaft development projects — notably a prestigious R1,3 billion contract to develop the main underground infrastructure for Northam’s greenfields Booysendal Platinum Mine on the Bushveld Complex’s eastern limb.

A string of successful projects has resulted in Murray & Roberts Cementation becoming regarded as a favoured supplier in the area of re-establishing the mining block on the other side of stone deposits. Much repeat business has flowed from this realm of expertise.

Partnerships have contributed to Murray & Roberts’ ability to access new markets, strengthen its technology capability and ultimately deliver world class projects

In the manganese sector, BHP Billiton is a relatively new and highly valued key client with Murray & Roberts Cementation installing ventilation infrastructure and establishing new ore bodies, among other activities.

The Vale ARM Joint Venture has become another major client since Murray & Roberts Cementation was selected in 2011 to establish the JV’s prestigious Konkola North copper mine in Zambia. Allan Widlake, business development director for Murray & Roberts Cementation, says after a recent project tour by the Vale team, the Brazilians were so impressed by the high standard of the work being conducted and the adherence to project schedules, that Murray & Roberts Cementation is now promoted internally to other Vale divisions. Also in the copper sector, the company has been awarded the shaft sinking and equipping of a new 1 200 m production shaft for Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines in Kitwe, Zambia.

Together with its partner SNC-Lavalin and client BHP Billiton, Murray & Roberts established new international benchmarks for aluminium smelters with the completion of Mozal I and II.

Sasol Mining is a key client in the coal sector, and offers much repeat business to Murray & Roberts Cementation. The team is now on site at Sasol Mining’s greenfields Impumelelo Mine Project, which is vital to the long-term security of Sasol’s Secunda petrochemical operations.

Murray & Roberts Cementation has a valuable long-term relationship with Gold Fields and is currently deepening a ventilation shaft at the South Deep gold mine and undertaking all underground infrastructural development of the gold horizon.