Targeting Growth

Mining engineering and minerals processing services firm UMS Group has been growing its business while navigating the challenges of COVID-19. SA Mining recently caught up with group executive for project services Dr Pieter Louw and group CEO Digby Glover to chat about the measures being undertaken to grow the business in a tough economic environment.

How has COVID-19 impacted mining project development globally and locally?

Exploration was impacted by the pandemic through reduced funding, but conversely there was an increased focus on progressing feasibility studies of already proven resources.

The travel restrictions imposed worldwide impeded physical interaction between client stakeholders and project-performing organisations. Like most companies, UMS overcame this by using software that allowed regular interaction between project stakeholders and within project organisations.

What was unexpected was the impact on supply chains and the supply of critical raw materials required to manufacture specialised equipment (e.g. computer chips). Most commodity prices except for gold and platinum group metals decreased.

Execution of projects in certain instances was delayed because of uncertainties that the virus would have on absenteeism in project teams, and especially so when projects were performed across borders between countries with different COVID-19 protocols.

Locally, in response to restrictions on travel, and the introduction of social distancing measures, UMS established virtual project teams to perform project work remotely using appropriate software.

This allowed projects to move ahead from feasibility study to implementation including completion of engineering designs and drafting to issue for construction level, while working in different time zones with client stakeholders in Canada and North America from South Africa.

During the early phase of the pandemic, mines closed and continued only with care and maintenance of critical infrastructure to ensure there was something to return to and continue operations as COVID restrictions eased over time.

Mines must be commended for the way they managed the process, and the lengths they went to to implement social distancing and ensure detection protocols were followed in line with the World Health Organization’s recommendations. Mines that were able to afford it implemented automation of certain underground operations to reduce reliance on people performing work.

What have been the key trends in the consulting, engineering and project management space over the past two years?

Numerous projects have been advanced through feasibility and into design. Critical projects have continued to be executed. Work from home was rapidly implemented and has continued in various forms including more popular hybrid models. This has further extended the ability to work across time zones and deliver to clients across the globe more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

How have companies navigated the associated challenges?

UMS identified different ways to manage existing projects, and deliver new projects within social distancing protocols without exposing people unduly to the virus.

The opportunities and challenges of working remotely and establishing virtual project teams during COVID restrictions enabled us to anticipate and recognise changes, and quickly adapt to restrictions.

The ability to hold most meetings with stakeholders from around the world on platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom has been incredibly beneficial. The cost, time and environmental impact on travel has been drastically reduced and must be sustained in the future.

How has UMS ensured that clients are well serviced and projects delivered during the pandemic?

Using risk-management processes, UMS ensured clients received deliverables, even remotely, and kept moving projects forward. This included regular internal reviews based on changing client project scope requirements, agreed contract management, and advice on lessons learnt and past experiences by the UMS project teams.

What are some of THE latest developments at UMS?

Earlier this year, UMS announced a new, unified branding, bringing together all UMS Group divisions under one umbrella, including UMS Shaft Sinkers, UMS METS, UMS Construction, UMS Botswana, UMS Nevada, UMS METS International in the UK, with UMS Brazil launching shortly.

The unified branding showcases our united offering that extends beyond shafts and contracting, to engineering, construction, processing, mining infrastructure and other mining-related services, both locally and internationally. By bringing together our businesses under one umbrella but also keeping the individual names, we are retaining the heritage while uniting our high-level engineering skills with our contracting skills to offer something very unique to the market.

Part of our drive to grow our business is to bring in a range of multidisciplinary skills. We have continued to curate an incredibly talented team of people, and we are in a position to take on new work with our expanding capabilities. We are very fortunate to have some of the best people in the industry, with exemplary personal track records that will continue to attract business, and are attracting more and more of these people as we grow.

Our strategy is starting to bear fruit, evident in the projects that we have secured. We have picked up jobs with new clients as well as previous clients, a strong indication of faith in our revitalised brand. We are proud to be working with companies such as Lucara Diamond Corp., Ero Copper Corp., Anglo American, Impala, Harmony, South32, and others.

What are some of your latest success stories?

Despite the global uncertainty as a result of the pandemic, UMS is growing, and the huge amount of bidding that we are doing reflects the growing demand in the market.

We are steadily growing our pipeline of work within South Africa on the contracting side, while on the EPCM side we are working on a number of very large bids for new mining developments.

In the Free State province we recently delivered a fast, innovative solution for Harmony’s Target 1 gold mine to optimise the shaft’s cooling capability. In the Northern Cape, South32 commissioned UMS to rehabilitate the Wessels mine shaft, which entailed repair of structural steelwork and services to support the mine life.

In Rustenburg, UMS was tasked to seal three large concrete walls for the underground vertical dam that was leaking water at Impala 20 mine.

Further afield, we are gearing up for the pre-sinking of two shafts for the Karowe Underground Mine Expansion Project in Botswana, while in Brazil, we are working on a feasibility study for Ero Copper, and looking to move rapidly into detailed design and execution on-site.