https://www.engineeringnews.co.za
Africa|Building|Business|Consulting|Design|Electrical|Energy|Engineering|Environment|Gas|Generator|Hydrocarbons|Infrastructure|Mining|Power|PROJECT|Project Management|Projects|Renewable Energy|Renewable-Energy|Resources|Services|Solar|Surface|Underground|Shaft Sinking|Infrastructure|Operations
Africa|Building|Business|Consulting|Design|Electrical|Energy|Engineering|Environment|Gas|Generator|Hydrocarbons|Infrastructure|Mining|Power|PROJECT|Project Management|Projects|Renewable Energy|Renewable-Energy|Resources|Services|Solar|Surface|Underground|Shaft Sinking|Infrastructure|Operations
africa|building|business|consulting-company|design|electrical|energy|engineering|environment|gas|generator|hydrocarbons|infrastructure|mining|power|project|project-management|projects|renewable-energy|renewable-energy-company|resources|services|solar|surface|underground|shaft-sinking|infrastructure|operations

Mining VP outlines capacity to intensify efficiencies, strengthen services through wider diversity of skills

Worley VP mining Robert Hull speaks to Mining Weekly's Martin Creamer about the company's new capacity and capability. Camerawork and Editing: Darlene Creamer.

19th July 2019

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

     

Font size: - +

Following the incorporation of Jacobs’ energy, chemicals and resources (ECR) business into the rebranded Worley, Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly interviewed Robert Hull, the new VP of the Worley mining, minerals and metals division for Africa, which provides advisory, project management and engineering services for the mining, minerals and metals processing sectors.

As reported by Mining Weekly last month, the then WorleyParsons announced that it had completed a $3.2-billion acquisition of Jacobs’ ECR unit, creating a force for the future as a global provider of professional project and asset services, supported by an employee complement of close to 60 000 people across more than 50 countries.

Worley CEO Andrew Wood described the merger as being about more than capacity and capability in that it provided the opportunity for the group to become the partner of choice for clients, the employer of choice for their people and the deliverer of enhanced returns for the shareholders of Worley, which has been publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 2002.

Operationally, the combination of the two complementary organisations offers sector leadership across hydrocarbons, power, chemicals, minerals and metals.

“That’s pretty exciting for us as an organisation,” said outgoing CEO of WorleyParsons RSA Denver Dreyer at the time, which coincided with his appointment as Senior Vice President Mining, Minerals & Metals (MM&M) for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Worley.

“This is a merger of two equals in terms of capabilities and competencies, strong records of delivering projects and ethical codes of conduct. As a combined organisation of substantial size and expertise, we’re strongly positioned to help our clients in South Africa to navigate some of the complex challenges, such as the new mining requirements, gas programme, power programme and demand for clean fuels,” Dreyer commented.

While the company could offer a lot before, it is now able to offer even more, not only within the mining space but also across various other aspects of ECR engineering.

This was highlighted during MiningWeekly’s interview with Hull, who, prior to his new appointment, was responsible for the management of all projects delivered locally and globally out of the Worley, South Africa office.

Now, as one of Africa’s biggest providers of professional ECR services, the rebranded Worley has the capacity to intensify efficiencies and strengthen services through its wider diversity of skills.

In South Africa, where some of Worley’s large mining, mineral and metal processing projects are still concentrated, the company is playing a leading project role at De Beers’ major Venetia underground diamond mine project, in Limpopo, while making a significant contribution towards realising crucial enterprise supplier development (ESD) for previously disadvantaged South Africans.

ESD INITIATIVE TESTIMONY TO POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION

The development by Worley ESD partner ST Nubian Architects of the simulated underground mining environment at the University of Johannesburg follows successful tendering for the project, with mining engineering assistance from Worley.

Launched in 2013, the Worley ESD initiative supports meaningful transformation of the southern Africa economy by providing tangible opportunities for small businesses to prosper and expand, the company states in a media release.

As the initiative matures, the list of successful partnerships continues to grow, highlighting the critical role businesses play in driving inclusivity and sustainability in the environments in which they operate.

Worley Senior Project Manager Gladwin Mfolo describes the company’s corporate transformation strategy as being fundamental to any social development programme, to not only maintain relevance in a changing economic and business environment but also ensure inclusive benefit.

“The Worley ESD initiative is one of the corporate social responsibility programmes in South Africa with real success stories that attest to how positive transformation can happen,” states Mfolo, citing Gridbow Engineering and Technical Services as one such example.

The award-winning Gridbow electrical engineering company which specialises in energy audits, generator installations, and uninterrupted power supply services, is now an alumni partner company in the Worley ESD programme, which means that it has continued to work closely with Worley in pursuing work and executing projects after graduating from the Worley ESD programme.

Gridbow’s entrepreneurial journey with Worley has been an amazing success story, and the company has grown to over 60 permanent employees and has expanded its business operations into sub-Saharan Africa and as far as Australia.

A further example of a Worley ESD extended partner company that has been able to offer professional consulting engineering services across most continents is iX engineers.

“These two companies are now at the point where they are able to fulfil their own socioeconomic obligations and can operate independently. The wheel has come full circle and their success is testament to the Worley ESD programme working the way it was intended,” comments Mfolo.

Worley’s 12 ESD programme participants range from core partner companies to extended partner companies and alumni partner companies. The programme assists the ESD partner companies with capability and capacity building, with special focus on value-added activities.

South Africa has much to gain from this initiative, which is maturing to the extent that more joint delivery of services is anticipated.

Mining Weekly put these questions to Hull in the attached video interview, which was conducted at the company’s Melrose Arch offices, in Johannesburg:

How many of the countries of this continent engage the services of Worley mining, minerals and metals division for Africa?

We’re in more than seven countries in Africa, through various phases of project life cycles, from early feasibility and concept studies all the way through to project implementation. By far, our biggest current market base is still South Africa; with probably at least 80% of our business conducted from this office in South Africa, and some of our large projects here.

To what extent is the Worley mining, minerals and metals division able to draw on the skills of the entire group of over 60 000 people across more than 50 countries?

Across the group, we’ve reconsidered our approach to mining which is now one of the four main predominant areas that enjoy focus at board level. We are more than 3500 professionals worldwide within the mining group and have expertise throughout the world in various different minerals and various different mining methods, as well as in processing methods. South Africa has close to 2500 people on the African continent, through various joint ventures as well as projects and operations. The world of mining, for Worley, has therefore become a lot closer in that we’re in a lot more contact with the people who have expertise. We’re also looking at how we define that expertise and how we’re using it across various locations. That’s not only drawing on group skills for Africa but also providing African skills for the rest of the world.

What has Worley been able to offer at De Beers’ large $2-billion underground diamond mine project at Venetia, in Limpopo?

Worley has had a lot of experience in shaft sinking, in the development of shaft surface infrastructure and in implementing underground design engineering. We offer all that to the Venetia project. Our scope is for all the infrastructure, and that’s both surface and underground infrastructure. Our scope also includes the management of the overall project controls function. We’re implementing schedule, cost and other project management controls throughout the project, and assisting De Beers in controlling those areas.

What other significant projects are using the services offered by your division?

We’ve got quite a few projects in South Africa across a diverse client base that are using the services in terms of feasibility and studies, as well as implementation. They also use our digitisation offering and our integrated project controls function. We’re not just limited to South Africa. We’re also delivering those services to two projects in Australia, projects in Kazakhstan, and we’re assisting with some studies in North America and South America.

Worley has retained Johannesburg as its centre of excellence for deep level mining. Is your company still promoting broader economic participation and transformation of previously disadvantaged South Africans, which is so crucial?

We’re still passionate about transformation and we’re still passionate about our ESD companies. We prioritise the use of our ESD companies within this location. We have prioritised gender and race equality and we’re also driving that strongly. Our ESD companies are really doing well with the investment that started many years ago and unfortunately that’s how long it takes; you don’t just start a business and off it goes immediately, but we are really seeing great strides now with these companies. The fact that we’ve just received some business from one of those companies is a real testament to the fact that it’s working and that it’s running. They’ve got a contract with the mining engineering department of the University of Johannesburg and we’re designing an underground mock up mine which will be used by the university to show their young graduates underground conditions.

Prior to your latest appointment, you were responsible for the management of all projects delivered locally and globally out of the South Africa office. Does that stand your clients in good stead in your current position?

Until recently, yes, I delivered all projects out of this location, and that’s across the full spectrum of energy, chemicals and mining – everything that’s been delivered from this location. It has stood me in very good stead in understanding the new business and the merger, but it has also given me exposure to the way projects are done globally and what I now need to deliver on the African continent.

Mining and energy are joined at the hip. To what extent is renewable energy in demand and what can you offer when it comes to sun and wind energy?

Obviously, we’ve been pushing quite hard as Worley in these areas. We have a centre of excellence that looks at all the renewable energy sources. However, from the Johannesburg office, we’ve delivered one of the biggest wind energy projects on the continent, which is in Kenya. We have extensive experience in a wind farm project, in the Eastern Cape. We’ve also delivered solar plants in the Northern Cape. We have extensive knowledge within this business globally, as well as within this location, that we can call on. We’re not losing that part of our business. It actually becomes a supplementary portion of what we can offer to our mining clients, and it is something that we’ve seen receiving a lot more focus recently.

What is the message that you would like to put across to your market?

The message I’d like to put out is that we’re a force for the future, not only within the mining space, which is my concentrated area, but also across various other aspects of the overall engineering business. We are a real contender globally and we now have a greater resource base to call on to help us with any situation that may crop up.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

Showroom

Condra Cranes
Condra Cranes

ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
M and J Mining
M and J Mining

M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.207 0.275s - 164pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now