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March 2016

MODERN MINING

25

COMPANIES

french sa

M

urray & Roberts Cementation,

of course, is one of the iconic

names of the mining indus-

try with a global reputation

for its underground mining

skills. It is based in Johannesburg but has sis-

ter companies in North and South America

and Australia. The Forrest Group, for its part,

is extremely well known in Central Africa. It is

active in many sectors of the DRC’s economy,

frommining, infrastructure build and electrical

contracting through to banking and agriculture.

Says Widlake: “This is an exciting develop-

ment for Murray & Roberts Cementation. We are

certainly not strangers to the DRC but generally

in the past we’ve entered the country to work

on specific projects and then exited on the con-

clusion of each contract. The new partnership

with EGMF – which is essentially the civils,

road-building and open-pit mining contracting

arm of the Forrest Group – will give us a per-

manent presence in a country which we regard

as one of the most important in Africa in terms

of the potential it has for underground mining.”

He adds that EGMF’s deep knowledge of

operating in the DRC – in terms of clients,

the legal system, logistics and similar issues

Joint venture

to target DRC’s

underground mining market

Allan Widlake, Business

Development Executive,

Murray & Roberts

Cementation.

Underground mining and shaft-sinking specialist Murray & Roberts

Cementation and EGMF, part the Forrest Group, have teamed up to

form a new company – Cementation Mining Company – which will

target underground mining projects in the DRC.

Modern Mining

spoke to Allan Widlake, Business Development Executive of Murray

& Roberts Cementation, at this year’s Mining Indaba to learn more

about the new joint venture.

– will be a major benefit to the

joint venture. EGMF will also

be responsible for most of the

administration that the company

will need, meaning that Murray

& Roberts Cementation will

generally only need to commit

permanent personnel to the DRC

on a project by project basis.

The history of EGMF (Enterprise Générale

Malta Forrest) dates back to the early 1920s

when company founder Malta Forrest arrived

in Africa from New Zealand. He established a

transport company in Kolwezi, and this was

the beginning of the present Group which

reportedly ranks as the DRC’s leading private

employer. It has offices not only in the DRC but

also Belgium, Kenya and South Africa.

EGMF is based in Lubumbashi, the capital

of Katanga Province, in the heart of the DRC

Copperbelt and this will serve as the base for

the new joint venture company. A big plus is

that EGMF’s Chief Operating Officer (COO)

is Nick James, a South African mining engi-

neer (he graduated from Wits) with a long and

distinguished record in the Southern African

mining industry. His previous positions have