Modern Mining June 2015

COVER STORY

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MODERN MINING



June 2015

ajor growth in recent years

has been spurred by a series

of contracts within the East-

ern Limb of the Bushveld

Complex, predominantly in

the Steelpoort and Burgersfort areas, where

there has been significant expansion in the

platinum metals sector.

“Around 70 % of our work is for the mining

segment, which in addition to civils includes

building if this is part of the greater contract.

Over time, projects have grown in complexity

and provided opportunities for us to offer flex-

ible engineering solutions,” explains MK Africa

contracts director Gerhard van Schalkwyk, who

along with company founder and contracts

director, Hannes Venter, leads this multi-fac-

eted business. MK Africa has a satellite office

in Lydenburg to support its Mpumalanga

operations, with the group head office based in

Irene, Gauteng.

Past examples of engineering innovation

include the installation of steel tunnels to pro-

vide access following cave-ins experienced on

decline shaft portals. In one instance at the

Everest platinum mine, MK Africa successfully

installed a 60 m long steel tunnel, measuring

4,5 m in diameter, down the decline within the

existing boxcut. This solution opened up the

mine to trackless equipment and personnel in

the shortest possible time.

Van Schalkwyk joined the company in April

2014 and brings with him decades of project

management and civil engineering expertise on

mega contracts. “We are progressively adding to

our leadership team to ensure that we have the

resources in place to support intensive project

activities, which are supported by best-in-class

quality, risk and cost control construction man-

agement systems.”

As part of its repositioning strategy, the com-

pany underwent a name change from Multikon

to MK Africa in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Venter says this is a more accurate reflection

of MK Africa’s future business focus in both

local and cross-border work. New opportunities

MK Africa expands

its civils

Centre:

One of MK Africa’s

Cat 329D L hydraulic

excavators at the base

of a ventilation shaft

construction project at

Bokoni mine.

Below:

From left to right are

MK Africa contracts directors

Gerhard van Schalkwyk and

Hannes Venter, together

with Barloworld Equipment

Cat sales professional, Molly

Breton.

Working across the mining and industrial sectors as a niche

civil engineering contractor, MK Africa has been instru-

mental in establishing key infrastructure on a number of

greenfield and brownfield projects in South Africa since the

company’s formation ten years ago.