Modern Mining October 2019

COVER STORY

by sustaining capital investment by mining companies lacks the ‘glamour’ associated with the implementation of new greenfield capital projects but nevertheless provides a steady – and grow- ing – revenue stream and the opportunity to build sustainable relationships with customers. A second trend that Bell iden- tifies as an opportunity for the company is the ‘migration’ of open-pit mines to underground operation as surface resources are depleted. “Essentially, what we’re talking about is the development of large-scale block caves and sub-level caves. Examples of proj- ects of this type are the Venetia Underground Project (VUP) in South Africa, the Chuquicamata underground copper mine in Chile

Although the MM&M line of business only accounts for about 10 % of Worley’s global rev- enue, the African operation, controlled from Johannesburg, is still mainly engaged with the min- ing market. “Mining is the source of about 80 % of the revenues generated by the Johannesburg office,” states Dreyer. “This is changing, however, and energy, chemicals and petrochemicals will be increasingly important to the African business. We’ve already scored some big successes in these fields in Africa, including the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project in Kenya, the largest in Africa, which has just been officially launched. Worley was responsible for both the project and construction management.” Dreyer makes the point that high ethical stan- dards and transparency are core values of Worley and mentions that the group is working closely with Transparency International (TI) to develop more transparency at the front-end of the mining process, especially in emerging economies. “We’re rolling out workshops both here in South Africa and globally which will address this issue, highlighting some of the experience we’ve gained over the years,” he says. Finally, and moving to the subject of the digital transformation of mining, Dreyer notes that Tier 1 mining companies are increasingly demanding digital platforms to plan, engineer, construct and manage their projects. “Fortunately, Worley is one of the world leaders in this field, in part due to the efforts of the Johannesburg office, which has been one of the pioneers of the concept of the virtual or digital mine,” he says. “We can now offer our clients truly cutting-edge technology. We see this digital ability giving us a clear competitive edge as we move forward.” 

and the Cadia East mine in Australia, in all of which we’re involved. We have been able to bring our global resources to bear on these projects, which are notable for their size and complexity.” According to Dreyer, the global footprint of Worley – now further enhanced by the merger – has been hugely beneficial to the South African opera- tion. “Activity in South Africa’s mining sector has been subdued over the past several years, but we nevertheless remain extremely busy, providing sup- port to Worley’s execution projects globally,” he says. “This involvement is also extremely positive for our people, who have the opportunity to participate in major projects around the world.” On the subject of expansion into the African mining market, Dreyer is of the view that the con- tinent has the potential to be a major growth area for Worley. “We are keen to operate throughout Africa. We are already active in many African coun- tries and we would like to further grow our footprint across the continent. We see particular opportunity in commodities such as lithium, nickel and graphite which are going to be increasingly in demand as the global transition to ‘greener’ sources of energy gains momentum,” he says. Interestingly, Worley’s two biggest current or recent mining execution projects in Africa are at opposite ends of the continent. In South Africa, the company is the EPCM contractor on De Beers’ VUP, which is taking the Venetia diamond mine under- ground, while in Morocco it has just completed the Beni Amir phosphate beneficiation plant for the OCP Group. This is a complex project which has not only involved the construction of a 190 km long pipeline which is the longest of its type in the world but also has linkages to upstream and downstream projects being executed in parallel.

Worley is one of the world leaders in the application of digital technology to process plant design and mine development.

“We are keen to operate throughout Africa. We are already active in many African countries

and we would like to further grow our footprint across the continent.”

October 2019  MODERN MINING  19