Modern Mining

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March 2016 MODERN MINING25
COMPANIES
Murray & 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