REMOTE MINE SERVICES
Servest partner company takes over Jwaneng contract
Botswana company BelServest in association with Servest has a new three-year contract from Debswana for its Jwaneng Diamond Mine Camp. Servest through Servest Camp Management specialises in remote site projects and the underlining philosophy“ is that every person who lives in these villages should be at home there. This guides the creation of comfortable and homely environments to which people are happy to return after a hard day’ s work.”
BelServest will employ around 180 personnel, and with a future planned camp upgrade and expansion project, it is anticipated that this will grow to around 210 personnel within the next 18 months. A comprehensive project to upgrade the accommodation, dining, kitchen and recreation facilities of the Jwaneng mine residents village started in November 2016 and will be completed by August 2019.
BelServest employs one expatriate regional manager responsible for the area, and the balance of personnel are all Motswana nationals. The camp has been operated for the past 4.5 years under the Servest Botswana banner and now under BelServest. BelServest Facilities Management Botswana“ is a fullservice facilities management company, with a unique offering. For some of our clients we provide focused corporate advisory and business intelligence services; for others the allencompassing management of a complete facility.”
Majority owned by a Motswana citizens group, BelServest FM“ has in-depth local knowledge and insight, with service delivery bolstered by our association with the Servest Group and its multinational track record.”
BelServest FM is 51 % owned by a Motswana citizen group and 49 % by Servest Multiservice Group Botswana.“ Through this partnership, our clients benefit from the value chains both shareholder groups have created for other projects in Botswana. The resulting integration of services and capabilities elevate the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the services we render from our regional offices in Gaborone, Francistown and Maun.”
Sodexo picks up Amrun
Rio Tinto in February 2017 awarded a A $ 22 million integrated services contract to facilities management provider Sodexo which includes an indigenous employment target of 20 % within two years. Sodexo will supply camp management services to the world class Amrun bauxite project on the Cape York Peninsula in North Queensland and 50 jobs will be required to deliver the two year contract. A letter of intent has also been signed with the company to provide integrated facilities management services at mine sites at Weipa in North Queensland and Gove in the Northern Territory. The contract was awarded based on Sodexo’ s commercial offering, commitment to health, safety and environment and local and indigenous participation.
Amrun Project General Manager Marcia Hanrahan said:“ Facilities management will be critical to the ongoing success of Amrun operations. We are very pleased to work with Sodexo to provide the safest and most comfortable environment for our people living and working onsite. Sodexo is committed to achieving our indigenous employment targets and will also work closely with local businesses to identify associated subcontracting opportunities.”
Sodexo Mining Asia Pacific CEO Paul Bean said:“ This contract award signals Sodexo’ s success and commitment in continuing to deliver high quality facility management solutions at the right cost, safely and in collaboration with local communities. Additionally, the Amrun contract presents us with an exciting opportunity to significantly increase employment, training and business development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the region.”
Aggreko remote power for Amrun
Rio Tinto has also awarded a A $ 100 million contract to build a new 20 MW power station at the Amrun bauxite project in Far North Queensland. Aggreko Australia Pacific won the contract to build and operate the station which includes a high efficiency modular diesel power system. The installation will include engine efficiency upgrades and a heat-recovery system to be deployed over the 15-year term of the contract. A five-year option is available to extend the agreement.
Rio Tinto Amrun Project General Manager Marcia Hanrahan said:“ The contract to build this power station signifies another important milestone for delivery of the Amrun project. We look forward to partnering with Aggreko on this exciting new venture. The power delivery expertise and operational capabilities that the Aggreko team will bring will be critical to the success of our operations.”
A team of more than 20 Aggreko employees including engineers, project managers and technicians will come together to deliver the installation by December 2017 with go-live set for April 2018. Aggreko Australia Pacific
Rio Tinto announced its A $ 2.6 billion investment in the Amrun project in late 2015. The project is about 40 km south of Rio Tinto’ s existing East Weipa and Andoom mines on the Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland and involves the construction of a bauxite mine, processing and port facilities. Sodexo and Aggreko have been awarded contracts for camp management services and a power station respectively
Managing Director George Whyte said:“ Our people on the ground in Weipa and the wider Aggreko team look forward to working with Rio Tinto on this project.”
Mammoet’ s varied mine movements
Mammoet is involved in a wide range of logistics tasks linked to mining. In November 2016 it finished moving the first houses from the Swedish city of Gällivare to nearby Koskullskulle. Gällivare has been built on iron deposits and the houses in the city have to make way for a new mine. Because many of these houses are of high cultural value, the governmental mining company wanted to move them in one piece. Mammoet completed the first part of this project ahead of schedule one day before the first snow started to fall.
Preparations had been going on for several months. Mammoet’ s subcontractor Nylundh had been digging out the soil from underneath the houses since June 2016. Once Nylundh had dug out and fortified each house, it was lowered onto Mammoet’ s transportation equipment. Mammoet used two prime movers and 18 axles of conventional trailers to transport each of the houses across approximately 7 km to their new destination. The houses vary in size, with a weight ranging between 45 and 220 t, the biggest one measuring 25 m in length, 12 m in width and 13.3 m in height. The houses that were moved have now been renovated. In total, Mammoet is moving 30 houses from Gällivare to Koskullskulle by end 2017.
Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group, the owner and operator of the Chichester Mining Hub, recently appointed Mammoet to support it with transportation and lifting services during its maintenance and shutdown activities. Mammoet was chosen to ensure those
12 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2017