BASIL READ MINING: Driving Deep Successes in Northern Cape

The South African mining industry is unquestionably a key driver of the economy. This is not a revelation. Since 1867 and the discovery of diamonds and then gold, mining has been the country’s backbone, providing opportunities and employment for millions, while supplying the world with much-needed mineral resources. South Africa should be praised for the work this sector has completed as part of the development of global industries. Diamonds, gold, copper, iron ore, platinum, manganese, chromium, uranium, titanium and much more has been unearthed and exported.

But, in modern times, the industry has been faced with growing and changing challenges. Concerns around safety, environmental impact, morality, financial constraints, and more have resulted in an atmosphere of red tape and worry. Even with the major companies of the world operating modern, efficient, world-class organisations, each investment decision is scrutinised like never before. This has been compounded by the Covid-19 crisis. Growing, developing, and sustaining a modern mining operation in South Africa is no easy task.

However, there are brilliant companies in South Africa making mining an exciting prospect, resilient to future change and a leading adopter and creator of technology.

In May 2022, the Investing in African Mining Indaba will once again take place at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) following cancelation in 2021 and a rescheduling from February’s initial new date.

In the build up to this event, Basil Read Mining – a shining star within the embattled Basil Read Group – has been consolidating its customer base, delivering world-class solutions, hunting for large projects, and investing in its stakeholders to build a business ripe for further innovation and development.

MINING EXPERTS

The mining arm of Basil Read specialises in surface contract mining, which includes drill and blasting; load, haul and dump; material handling; in-pit water management; bulk earthmoving; thin, thick and multiple seam mining; mine spoils rehabilitation; mobile plant maintenance; and management services to the mining, quarrying and construction industries. Established by engineer Basil Read in 1952, this is a group intertwined with South Africa’s own history.

CEO of Basil Read Mining is Nathan Williams and he tells Enterprise Africa about progress with exciting projects in what remains a key industry.

“We are involved at De Beers Venetia Mine where we are doing some of the last open pit mining there before they move into underground operations. We will finish there mid-2022,” he begins.

“In Botswana, we recently finished a project at Jwaneng and we landed a new five-year contract, with a partner, at Morupule Coal in October.

“In Namibia, we are busy finishing a project with Swakop Uranium at Husab. We will move a lot of the kit from there back to South Africa.

“We have just completed a contract at Navachab alongside a local partner. We are also excited about the potential Tschudi copper project which is coming up in the New Year. We bid on that project as Basil Read Mining Namibia.

“In South Africa, we are bidding on work in the iron ore space for work at Sishen and Kolomela mines, and we are looking at work with ferro-manganese with Samancor. There are lots of opportunities in the Northern Cape,” he says.

GAMSBERG

In April 2021, the company landed a significant contract at Gamsberg mine in the Northern Cape. Next to the town of Aggeneys, Gamsberg is part of the Black Mountain Mining Operations, owned by Vedanta. Initially, Basil Read Mining put a strong fleet on site consisting of a Liebherr 9200, a 915 and a 984 alongside a number of smaller trucks. The company started our drilling 25,000 metres per month.

“Gamsberg becomes a very important replacement project as Venetia closes. It is exciting that, not only did we land that project in April 2021, we are potentially looking at growing there,” says Williams.

Vedanta is waiting for assurances from the South African government around issues of water, power, and fiscal stability before it makes the final decision on expansion at Gamsberg, but so far has committed R21.4 billion to phases one and two and the smelter. Eventually, production capacity will reach four million tonnes of ore and 250,000 tonnes of zinc-in-concentrate per year. The 30-year project will fuel a zinc industry which sees demand currently outstripping supply.

“The thing that excites me is that we are six months in and we are already looking at expanding the project. Initially we signed up to move 1.3 million tons per month and we are hoping to expand that significantly as the project grows,” says Williams.

Away from mining, Basil Read Mining as a division of the wider group also works across the quarrying sector and has several significant contracts underway right now.

“We operate in 26 other quarries in South Africa through our blasting and excavating subsidiary. We also offer a rebuild and specialist and maintenance service under another brand across southern Africa.”

FLEET POWER

For Williams, there is no doubt that the strength of the fleet separates the company from others. “We have more than 1000 employees and we own and maintain a fleet of mobile mining equipment that can be deployed to meet clients’ requirements, anywhere across the region,” he says.

And in the future, where the economic outlook remains unclear, Basil Read Mining is investing in R&D to ensure efficiencies. South Africa’s share of global exploration budget has been falling for more than a decade, its 2021 exploration budget makes up just 19% of all SADC nations, the country ranks outside the top 10 when it comes to mining investment attractiveness for Africa, and the number of listed mining and exploration companies continues to dip. But, the industry employed more than 500,000 people in 2019, contributing more than R527 billion to the economy and attracting foreign inflows with more than 60% of mined material heading abroad. Clearly, there remain opportunities for those able to innovate.

“We are trying to consolidate clients and move into the technology space where we can introduce automated equipment. Because of the nature of that kind of investment, it’s better to do with consolidated, long-term clients rather than experiment across a range of small contracts,” says Williams.

“It opens a lot of opportunity for safety and productivity improvements as well as financial gains as you get into LNG fuel technology or even diesel electric. We have traditionally played in the 100-ton and 200-ton excavator arena, but with consolidated clients we see the opportunity, especially with zinc and iron ore, to go in with 180-ton trucks with 400-ton excavators. Getting into larger equipment again opens up a whole new market for us.”

Currently, Basil Read Mining employs the world’s best from Liebherr alongside other proven brands. At the Beeshoek Iron Ore mine in the Northern Cape, Basil Read Mining was the first company in the country to use a Liebherr R 9200 Mining Excavator, powered by a single Cummins QSK38 diesel engine, delivering a gross power output of 810 kW (1,086 HP). The machine was well-suited to deal with temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius, loading 100-ton trucks in five passes.

FUTURE PROOFING

Basil Read at group level, and through its mining division, is committed to embracing good corporate citizenship. Focusing around key areas of Safety, People, Environment, and Society, Basil Read continues to make a difference beyond its core operations. To date, the company has spent R9.9 million on the development of its people, it has invested R7.5 million in CSI projects, the mining division achieved a certificate of Safety Excellence in pursuit of Zero Harm awarded by De Beers at their global safety day event at Venetia mine, there is an inhouse occupational health clinic for all employees to make use of, and the group has developed a comprehensive environmental strategy which sees it continually evolving to reduce, reuse and recycle to leave minimal impact on the environment.

This effort will result in an improved appeal internationally as the company grows its horizons.

“In South Africa, we are a Level-1 contributor in terms of economic empowerment. We are proud of that as well as our enterprise development initiatives. We are also very happy with our CSR sphere and our progress with female empowerment which is an important topic in South African mining. At group level, we have female leadership in the developments division. We have recently developed career pathways and development frameworks which we hope to get to stage that can be accredited, giving our own employees a national or international accreditation. That sets us up for working on other continents,” states Williams.

In the future, as the mining industry continues to contribute more than 8% of South Africa’s GDP and where commodity pricing has buoyed miners – driving financial results and tax collections – Basil Read Mining will continue to thrive. For Williams, a slight reorganising of group structure to become a comprehensive solution across multiple industries will help Basil Read to claw back brand recognition.

“We have Mining, Construction and Developments as our three divisions; we are looking at consolidating Construction and Developments. If we can create a closer bond between Construction and Developments, we believe there are efficiencies to be had. We can then get Mining and Developments closer aligned because the mining division is thinking about how it can expand its footprint beyond just blasting, drilling, loading and hauling, and we can actually complete mine design, mineral economics, and get into the advisory space. In terms of execution, we can then get into the processing space too and handle crushing, screening, and design and operation of process plants. We want to become a holistic turnkey provider,” he concludes.

Unquestionably, mining still has so much to offer. Companies like Basil Read Mining are leading the way towards a modern and pioneering future where the country benefits from industry activity in a big way.