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MODERN MINING
February 2016
COMPANIES
M
cNiff’s appointment makes
for strong continuity, as he
has had overall responsibil-
ity for WorleyParsons RSA
for some time, with the ex-
CEO Digby Glover having reported to him over
the past couple of years. “In essence, I’m just
extending my current role as Head of Sub Sa-
haran Africa to also include the day-to-day
management of the South African operation,”
he says.
Glover, of course, was a capable CEO and
McNiff says WorleyParsons is sorry to lose him.
“He leaves with our best wishes and our thanks
for the sterling work he did in overseeing the
integration of the TWP organisation into the
WorleyParsons Group, a process which effec-
tively started in 2013 – when WorleyParsons
acquired TWP – and which was successfully
completed during his tenure,” he notes.
Scottish by birth and a structural engineer
by training (his degree is from Heriot-Watt
University), McNiff has spent a major part of
his career with WorleyParsons, having joined
one of the predecessor companies of the Group
in 1989, after having started his career with the
UK arm of American engineering company,
Brown & Root (as it was then known).
During his time with WorleyParsons he has
been based in a number of geographic loca-
tions, including the US, the UK, the Middle
East, Asia and, of course, South Africa. “I was
involved in the set-up of the WorleyParsons
operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Angola,
Mozambique and South Africa and I’ve been
involved with the South African business
since it started up,” he relates. “Our entry
point to South Africa was the acquisition of
Pangaea in 2008, followed by our takeover of
KV3 in 2011 and, of course, TWP in 2013.”
On the subject of the current recession in
mining, he says that WorleyParsons RSA is not
immune to the market situation and – like all its
peers – is having to find ways of taking cost out
of the business and working more efficiently.
“Fortunately, we operate not only in the
metals and minerals space but also the hydro-
carbons and infrastructure sectors, so we are
well diversified,” he explains. “Being part of
a global group also helps as the resources of
the South African operation – which, inciden-
tally, is our global centre of excellence when
it comes to mining and precious metals – are
being increasingly deployed outside of Africa,
which means that we are not solely dependent
for business on the African resources mar-
ket. Our people in South Africa are currently
contributing their skills to projects in Europe,
South America and Asia and this involvement
overseas will only grow in the future.”
He adds that one of WorleyParsons’ strengths
is its ability to workshare seamlessly over mul-
tiple locations. “Our projects are typically
executed from more than one location which
means that clients are able to tap into our huge
depth of global expertise, wherever their proj-
ects are situated. This is not at the expense,
however, of a deep understanding of local
markets and conditions. Our credo is ‘Local
Delivery of Global Capability’, which means
that our clients effectively get the best of both
worlds.”
Looking specifically at the Southern African
mining market (the one of most interest to
Modern Mining’s
readers), McNiff concedes
that new capex has all but dried up but says
the need for mine owners to extract the maxi-
mum value from existing assets has opened up
Experienced
hand at the
helm of WorleyParsons RSA
Francis McNiff, who heads
WorleyParsons RSA.
The new head of WorleyParsons RSA, Francis McNiff, is no stranger to the South
African operation as he is already Regional Managing Director, Sub Saharan Africa
for WorleyParsons and has been based in South Africa for the past three-and-a-
half years. He takes over at a challenging time, with mining activity – which has
traditionally been the mainstay of the South African business – currently at a low
ebb. He is confident, however, that WorleyParsons RSA will continue to cope with
market conditions very successfully and strengthen its reputation as one of the
leading engineering groups operating in the Sub Saharan Africa region.
“Our people in
South Africa
are currently
contributing their
skills to projects
in Europe, South
America and
Asia and this
involvement
overseas will
only grow in
the future.”