Australian contractors operating overseas have a reputation for working harder, faster, and better.
If they can manage to get more out of their machines and themselves, then they’ll find a way.
So what better exemplifies this reputation for hard work than a world record?
Two Australian miners Barminco and Ausdrill,
working through their joint venture company African Underground Mining
Services (AUMS), have managed to achieve a world breaking mining record
at Rangold Resources’ Loulo mine at its Gara project in Mali, West Africa.
Breaking new ground
According to the contractor, AUMS managed to
achieve a new international resources record during its mining of more
than five kilometers of development in a single jumbo operation since
work commenced at the Loulo mine site in April 2010.
In July 2011 three crews working on a Sandvik jumbo
achieved 603.1 metres advance in a single month alone, fully bolted and
meshed as per Australian standards in five metre by five metre
headings.
Speaking to Barminco’s business development and commercial manager David Noort, he told Australian Mining “this feat surpasses anything I’ve seen before.
“One jumbo, installing its own rockbolts and full
mesh, managing to achieve this advance within one month is singularly
one of the most spectacular feats of development mining performance I
have come across.”
One that pushed the machine, and the miners, to the limits.
Noort went on to say that this achievement was made
more impressive by the increased operational complexities the
contractors faced, as firstly the team managed to carry it out in Mali –
one of the poorest and most remote countries in the world; dealt with a
language barrier – both French and the native Bambara language, neither
of which many Australians speak; and also had a cultural barrier to
overcome, all the while training workers.
“What they have managed to do has completely
changed the value proposition of [Rangold Resources’ Gara project], and
really it has surpassed what they are managing to do with seven jumbos
at other operations, and all of this in such a short time.
“From the start of the jumbo’s work to when they achieved this record – it was only 18 months in total,” Noort stated.
This included training.
“I don’t know how they did it, but I would love to see them at work,” he added.
Barcminco’s operations manager for Mali, Kevin Flynn, explained to Australian Mining just how this milestone was achieved.
“[The record] was a huge effort by a great team of
highly skilled jumbo operators with experienced supervision which was
supported by a team of LHD operators and charge up operators, who all
had a firm commitment to working together to achieve this target.
“We also had a new jumbo drill available with great support from our mechanical and electrical departments.
“Our use of large sheets of mesh in our ground
support installation also made the whole process much more efficient,”
Flynn said.
African issues
But while this recent world record is an example of
what can be achieved there are always a number of hurdles to overcome
when Australians operate in Africa.
Especially in some of the poorer nations such as Mali.
As Noort stated, “Africa can be difficult”.
An understatement and a half.
Some of the major problems are the geographic hurdles and logistics.
Noort explained that “the physical side is an issue; it really is a significant challenge.”
He said that with the massive distances between
most mines and existing infrastructure often a company will find that it
has to construct the infrastructure itself as there is nothing there.
“You can’t just go ordering the services, you need
to establish the infrastructure yourself but once you have it eventually
becomes an opportunity as it can keep your competitors out of the
market in terms of contracting.”
The people and the comparison of African standards
against Australian benchmarks also make operating on the continent a
different experience for miners.
“One of the issues contractors often face is high
expectations – such as the expectation that someone is actually able to
drive when they apply for a job as a truck driver on one of the mines,”
Noort told Australian Mining.
“The criteria for success have to be different,” he said.
Australians in Africa
Despite the difficulties faced, most Australian
operators have been welcomed at mining operations throughout Africa,
with the general perception of them as “more egalitarian” than some
other nationalities.
“This travels quite well,” Noort said, as “there is
no background of perceived hierarchy and people tend to be taken at
face value, which means Australians generally tend to do well in Africa, more so than some other countries.
“We’ve never faced any major problems from the local people,” Flynn said of his experience in Mali.
“All [the locals] are happy with the way our
company operates and are very pleased and supportive of our safety
standards and our commitment to the project,” he added.
Their ability to work in remote region and mechanise mining is also noted.
“Australian contractors general work well in the
region, whereas South African miners don’t travel so well in the area
and in mechanised mining belts, as they don’t have that exposure to the
organisation required for this type of mining, or the capabilities for
mechanised mining,” Noort said.
Given this reputation and the mining boom, this has “created a perfect storm for Australian operators looking to work in Africa”.
Operations
In Africa, Barminco operates at a number of
underground mines, at Rangold Resources' Gara and Yalea gold mines in
Mali; at Kinross Gold’s Akwaaba Deeps and its Paboase South gold mines
as well as Newmont’s Ahafo gold mine in Ghana; and finally at Pharaoh
Gold Mines’ Sukari operation in Egypt.
It has operated through its joint venture, African Underground Mining Services, since 2007.
According to Flynn, it is looking to expand throughout region via its reputation from its Mali and Ghana operations.
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