Modern Mining March 2015

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42 MODERN MININGMarch 2015
SURFACE MINING
CONTRACTING
feature
According to Buitendach, Concor
Opencast Mining is diversifying
away from conventional con-
tract mining and focusing on
offering a value-added service
in terms of its practical knowledge base. “This
means we have an intimate understanding of
the cost structure of a mining operation and
how to achieve the required production rate,”
he says. He also reveals that one of the com-
pany’s most significant investments in 2014
was its procurement of the Geovia Surpac and
MineSched mining software.
“This enables us to carry out detailed sched-
uling of projects, which means we are able to
fully quantify the solutions we offer our clients.
As part of our value-added service, we can also
back up or augment the internal design sched-
uling capacity of our clients by being able to
verify or carry out our own studies as well. In
addition, if clients do not have access to such a
service, we can offer this as well.”
Buitendach adds that contracts delivered
purely on price often do not entail the best
long-term solution for the client. “There is a
trade-off between short-term benefits and long-
term losses. This is particularly prevalent in
commodity sectors such as coal, which are
under pressure and hence extremely competi-
tive in terms of contract pricing.”
He believes the advantage Concor Opencast
Mining has in this tight market is its proven
capability to deliver results and meet the
requirements of its clients. The company has
operations in both soft- and hard-rock mining,
from coal to platinum and iron ore. “We have
experience in the full commodity spectrum. We
have also diversified into certain value-added
mining requirements by offering crushing
solutions, drawing on the construction infra-
structure we have at our disposal.”
Having full access to the group resources of
Murray & Roberts itself gives Concor Opencast
Concor pioneers a new
approach to contract mining
Concor Opencast Mining
operations at the Vlakfon-
tein coal mine.
Concor Opencast Mining, part of the Murray & Roberts
Group, reports it is pioneering a new approach in the con-
tract mining industry whereby it forms alliances or part-
nerships with its clients in order to agree upon a common
objective and a defined initiative to realise the best out-
come for all concerned. “Our vision is to move away from
conventional practice which is dominated by a rate-per-ton
approach,” Gert Buitendach, Contracts Director, says.