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May 2015
MODERN MINING
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COMPANIES
every aspect of our business under a magni-
fying glass to ensure that we run a very lean
operation and that we reverse any cost creep
that’s occurred.”
One effect of the mining downturn is that
companies like MCC have a fair proportion of
their fleets standing. “Sure, this is a problem
but it’s also an opportunity,” says Colling. “For
example, we’re now in a position to say to our
existing clients, ‘Let’s see if we can utilise some
of these machines so that we can move more
tons for you in the short term, thereby reduc-
ing your costs’. We also have the option of
leasing machines into the market – mainly to
mine owners – and this side of our business,
which is a collaboration with Eqstra’s Fleet
Management & Logistics division, is growing
quite considerably.
“Not only can we lease out the machines
but we can also offer a ‘manage, operate and
maintain’ contract – or various permuta-
tions thereof – if that’s what the client wants.
Leasing makes sense for us as we have equip-
ment that is not currently being utilised while
customers like it as it can provide them with
modern mining fleets without the huge capi-
tal expenditure – difficult to finance in the
present market – involved in purchasing new
machines from OEMs.”
Among the companies and mines with
leasing arrangements with MCC/Eqstra are
Rockwell Diamonds, which mines alluvial
diamonds in the Middle Orange River region
of South Africa, and Vedanta’s Skorpion zinc
mine in Namibia.
Looking at MCC’s workload, Colling says
the single biggest contract is for the Benga coal
mine near Tete in Mozambique, where it has
been on site since early 2011. It is currently
moving just over 2 million cubic metres (cubes)
a month at the mine and to achieve this is using
some of the biggest equipment ever deployed
by a South African contract miner including a
650-ton Liebherr 996 excavator and a fleet of
Cat 793 ‘ultra class’ trucks, each able to handle
a 250-ton payload.
When the contract was awarded, Benga
was owned by Australian company Riversdale
Mining (and later Rio Tinto) but is now in the
stable of an Indian joint venture, International
Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL). The con-
tract is up for renewal at the end of this year.
Says Colling: “We are already in negotiation
with ICVL on possible future solutions and
contract structures. We recognise that the coal
mining industry is under pressure due to low
coal prices so we’re negotiating with ICVL with
this reality very much in mind.”
In South Africa MCC has contracts at Total
Coal’s Dorstfontein mine (Total Coal is in the
process of being acquired by Exxaro), Anglo
American Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine,
Sedibelo’s Pilanesberg Platinum Mine (PPM),
Tharisa’s chrome mine at Marikana and
Sephaku Cement’s Aganang limestone mine
near Lichtenburg. At Tharisa MCC is now only
responsible for bulk waste mining, having
exited the selective mining of ore (on which it
was losing money).
The biggest contracts are for the Pilanesberg
mine, where MCC is moving up to 1,5 mil-
lion cubes a month, and Dorstfontein, where
it is handling similar volumes. The smallest is
Aganang (between 100 000 and 200 000 cubes
a month), which is MCC’s first venture into
limestone “Aganang is a new experience for
us and quite different from the normal mining
contracts that we undertake,” says Colling. “It’s
essentially a factory-like operation where there
is just one priority – to keep feeding the plant.
But we’re experts in moving material so this is a
task that is well matched to our skills and we’re
certainly open to other projects of this type.”
MCC’s newest contract is across border at
Lucara’s Karowe diamond mine in Botswana’s
Orapa Kimberlite Field. MCC took over the
mining from another contractor at the end of
last year and has a five-year contract at the
mine. “In terms of volumes – between 400 000
and 600 000 cubes a month – this is not a huge
contract but we nevertheless regard it as very
significant,” remarks Colling. “Firstly, we’re
very proud to be part of the team on what is
Operators pictured on site at
Karowe with one of the new
TR100 trucks deployed by
MCC at the mine.
“We recognise
that the coal
mining industry
is under pressure
due to low coal
prices ... .”
MCC ‘s Justin Colling