Since it was established in 2012, total technology solutions provider Tenova Mining & Minerals has received a positive market reception for its complete range of engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) and equipment supply services across the mining and minerals industry value chain.

“Globally, our clients on both the EPCM side and from our equipment supply side have reacted enthusiastically to the broader service offering that is now available to them from one source,” says Tenova Mining & Minerals president Walter Küng.

“Direct feedback – ranging from a major mining client operating from Salt Lake City, in the US, to clients in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and also in India – indicates that clients welcome the opportunity to speak to one company about all their requirements – from materials handling to processing technologies and solutions through to project execution,” notes Küng.

He says that while an increasing number of the company’s competitors are starting to move in the same direction through acquisitions and partnerships, Tenova Mining & Minerals remains unique in terms of the scope of its offering – from pit to port, comprising project conceptuali- sation and execution, as well as comprehensive aftermarket client support services.

Küng adds that when Tenova acquired process engineering and project management company Bateman more than a year ago, it expanded its mining-focused offering from servicing the mining equipment and bulk materials handling sectors to the broader minerals processing and project management sphere.

Selecting Greenstone Hill, in Johannesburg, as the group’s global headquarters, the company positioned itself not only to serve the international market, but also to capture a greater share of the sub-Saharan Africa market. Some 800 of the group’s 2 450 staff complement are based in South Africa, with 500 in Germany and the rest at the remainder of the 22 global offices in countries such as Australia, Chile, India, Russia and the US.

“South Africa, with its healthy financial infrastructure, provides an ideal springboard into the rest of the continent, where we believe the majority of new opportunities will arise. While North and South America and the CIS are currently the major markets for our services, most of the exploration and development of new orebodies are taking place in Africa. We are already seeing Chinese and Indian companies being very active in Mozambique, Namibia and Angola, among others,” says Küng.

He adds: “The market for equipment supply and project houses is currently overtraded, specifically in South Africa and internationally, to some extent, with a large number of competitors chasing limited opportunities. To compound this, worldwide, the mining industry is also register- ing a hiatus in new capital projects, with the trend being towards brownfield projects, which focus on efficiency improvements and production upgrades, as producers seek to ‘sweat’ more out of their existing assets. As a result, the market worldwide has turned slightly downwards and Tenova Mining & Minerals has used the opportunity to integrate its recently acquired heritage brands into a cohesive and aligned brand portfolio and offering.

“In Santiago, Chile, a new Tenova Mining & Minerals office was established in early July, drawing together and integrating the resources and capabilities of the three existing company offices in that country. In South Africa, Tenova Takraf Africa, currently located in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, and Tenova Pyromet, currently located in Park Town, also in Johannesburg, will relocate to the Greenstone offices in September and October respectively,” he explains.

However, while the company seeks to increase the synergies between its various business units through the integration of its resources, where required, its leadership and management are acutely sensitive to the need for strict governance in awarding equipment supply contracts when carrying out EPCM professional services work for clients.

“When such opportunities arise, the group’s equipment supply companies are treated strictly on an arms-length basis by its EPCM business units, with the appropriate checks and balances in place,” Küng says.

Despite tough market conditions over the past year, Küng says the company achieved its goals in terms of financial budgeting aspects and also its set objectives from an integration point of view.

Alignment of the group’s portfolio of heritage brands to the Tenova Mining & Minerals mother brand is reaching conclusion, with the final phase being that of Bateman Africa, the South African operating arm, changing its identity to Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa.

Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa executive chairperson Felix Fongoqa states that the comprehensive range of services offered by the company sets it apart in the local market, and it regards its technology expertise as a key differentiator.

Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa recently successfully underwent broad-based black-economic-empowerment recertification to Level 3, and also reregistered with the Construction Industry Development Board as a Level 9ME contractor. This enables and posi- tions the company to carry out projects of unlimited size for parastatals and government.

“The tough economic conditions worldwide, combined with the labour problems in South Africa, present several challenges when operat- ing in the local market. However, there are also several positives in the local market that we can take advantage of because of our unique position to do so.

In this capital-constrained market, Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa believes it can leverage its unique offering to service the current need for brownfield projects and upgrades – from initial studies to plant modifications and major equipment refurbishments. Küng says its client support service is an important component of the company’s portfolio and the group is seeing an upswing in demand for refurbishments. It has a client support office in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, which services the coal sector in this region. It will soon open another office in the Northern Cape to support the large number of machines it has supplied over a number of years to client operations there.

Projects
Bulk materials handling systems and equipment remain an important part of Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa’s portfolio, with the Douglas Middelburg Optimisation and Richards Bay Coal Terminal Phase V Extension V projects having been successfully completed in recent years.

The company is currently involved in a lump-sum turnkey project for State-owned power utility Eskom’s Kusile power station, in Mpumalanga, which comprises three separate materials handling contracts covering the handling facilities for the terrace, stockyard and limestone.

The scope of the project includes engineering and installation of the yard and in-plant conveyors, stockyards, stacking and reclaiming machines, civil works and electrical and instrumentation work.

The three packages require 79 conveyors, which will cover a distance of more than 16 km, and the installation of 13 pieces of heavy equipment.

Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa has provided engineering and project management services for iron-ore producer Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen Expansion Project, the Finsch diamond treatment plant upgrade and Blue Ridge for the establishment of a new platinum concentrator.

“Currently, Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa is completing a project to establish a 5 t elution facility at Harmony’s Kusasalethu gold mine, near Carletonville, in Gauteng. This is an extension to the existing gold processing plant at the Kusasalethu mine, which is being established as part of an initiative by Harmony to enhance efficiency by siting all related processing services in a single location,” says Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa MD Mike Deeks.

The EPCM project covers the design, engineering, construction and commissioning of an acid wash elution system, electrowinning equipment, a gold smelter house and reagent storage area, as well as all associated utilities.

Design, engineering and construction activi- ties of the various components of the facility had to proceed simultaneously to ensure that the demanding project schedule could be met. The smelter house was on the installation schedule critical path and in situ concrete was therefore replaced with precast panels to speed up installation time.

Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa’s water and wastewater technologies are another important leverage for the business for application not only in the mining and industrial sectors but also for municipalities.

“As Bateman Africa, the company’s record in water treatment is predominantly in the Western Cape; however, in South Africa, roughly 85% of municipal plants require major refurbishment, which presents a huge opportunity for Tenova Mining & Minerals in South Africa. We believe that we can play an important role in ensuring that all communities have access to potable water,” says Fongoqa.

Recently, Bateman Africa, now Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa, supported by its group technology partner, Tenova Bateman Technologies, was the main contractor for the mechanical and electrical works, the engineering and the supply of all equipment to the civil structures for the Meulwater water treatment works, in Paarl, in the Western Cape.

The Drakenstein municipality required a sys- tem that would not only perform its primary task of treating water but also ensure that the sensitive ecology of the area was disturbed as little as possible. “With our deep focus on providing best client solutions, we were awarded a CESA award for the treatment works, which have a treatment capacity of 8 Mℓ a day, upgradable to 15 Mℓ a day.

“While the treatment process has been optimised to suit the relatively good raw quality of mountain water, the design also allows for future incorporation of an additional dissolved air flotation process within the existing filters, should the water quality deteriorate. This is a possibility, considering the relatively poor quality of the Berg river water, which will supplement the mountain water,” says Deeks.

Facilities for recovering spent backwash water have also been included and, as the system returns most of the spent wash water to the head of the works for retreatment, water losses are substantially cut.

In a recent project award, Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa started work on a boiler emission abatement plant turnkey project for platinum miner Impala Platinum’s refineries.