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September 2016
MODERN MINING
29
COMPANIES
sees strong growth ahead
The Impumelelo overland
conveyer is one of the lon-
gest single-flight conveyors
in the world.
Stephen for many years – we had first worked
together in the early 1990s – and we discussed
the possibility of setting up a construction
arm of ELB. This led to the establishment of
ELBCON in 2011.”
Budd has acted as MD of ELBCON since
start-up and is well-qualified for the role. At
the beginning of his career he specialised in
aviation engineering but – after joining ELB
Equipment, part of the then Edward L Bateman
group, in the early 1980s – became increas-
ingly involved in the construction and mining
sectors. In the 1990s he went into the proj-
ects division of Edward L Bateman – Bateman
Projects – and this new direction in his career
eventually resulted in him having senior mana-
gerial roles on two of the key African mining
projects of the past decade – the Lumwana cop-
per mine in Zambia and the Ambatovy nickel
project in Madagascar (where he managed the
construction of what was then the biggest acid
plant in the world).
His close knowledge of the mining indus-
try has been of huge benefit to ELBCON, as
most of the construction contracts it under-
takes on behalf of ELB Engineering Services
are in either the mining, FMCG (Fast Moving
Consumer Goods) or power generation sec-
tors. The company does not, however, confine
itself to these areas and has undertaken work
for general industry – with its recent accom-
plishments having included, for example, the
refurbishment of a plastic piping facility and
the expansion of a coffee factory.
One of ELBCON’s very first contracts was for
Eskom’s Medupi Power Station near Lephalale
in Limpopo Province, where ELB Engineering
Services was awarded a major contract in 2011
to provide coal and ash handling facilities.
“This gave us a flying start and we’re still on
site today,” says Budd. “We have progressed
well with the construction of ELB’s materials
handling contract and are also involved with
the project by assisting Mitsubishi Hitachi
Power Systems, the contractor responsible for
the steam generators. Overall, our contribution
to Medupi has been – we believe – exemplary
and, most importantly, we’ve enjoyed an excel-
lent safety record. We’ve won several safety
awards and have recently completed one mil-
lion LTI-free hours.”
Another flagship ELB Engineering contract
that ELBCON has been deeply involved with
is the materials handling system for Sasol
Mining’s new Impumelelo coal mine near
Secunda, which – among other things – has
involved the construction of one of the longest
– at 26,9 km – single-flight conveyors in the
world. “We’re very proud of the contribution
we’ve made at Impumelelo,” notes Budd. “This
has been a huge undertaking for us and our
workforce on site peaked at around 250 people.
As at Medupi, we’ve enjoyed an outstanding
safety record and the project ranks as a huge