Modern Mining May 2015

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

May 2015  MODERN MINING  31