The recently completed acquisition by WorleyParsons (now rebranded as Worley) of the Energy, Chemicals and Resources division of Jacobs (Jacobs ECR), represents a major boost to Worley’s mining business and will also open significant opportunities for Worley’s Global Centre of Excellence for mining in Johannesburg. This is the view of Robert Hull, who now heads the Worley Mining, Minerals & Metals (MM&M) division for Africa.
As Hull points out, Jacobs ECR, although probably best known for its dominant presence in the petrochemical and chemical industries, was extremely strong in mining, with some major on-going prestige mining projects in its portfolio which is now inherited by Worley. These include a deep-level shaft for a copper and gold mine in Mongolia and a new materials handling facility – able to handle up to 10 Mt/a of granulated and coarse material – for a polyhalite project in the UK.
Underground at Wesizwe’s Bakubung Platinum Mine in the Western Bushveld.
“The South African office is already contributing to these and other projects that were in the Jacobs ECR portfolio,” says Hull. “The Global Centre of Excellence for mining services, the global Worley Group and the new projects that have been brought into the Group as a result of the merger will now benefit from the mining expertise that resides here in our Johannesburg office. This expertise extends to every aspect of mining, including shaft and mine development, minerals processing plants, materials handling, mine infrastructure, transport to market, and tailings and waste management.”
He adds that a forte of the Johannesburg office is the design and construction of deep shafts, with the majority of the landmark shafts constructed in South Africa over the past 15 years having been executed by Worley. “The deep-level skills we have are particularly relevant to the copper and gold mine in Mongolia, and already we have some personnel from South Africa assisting with the contract.”
Hull, a Wits mining graduate who joined TWP (later acquired by Worley) in 2007, is now responsible for Worley’s mining activities throughout Africa. He has managed some of Worley’s biggest mining projects in South Africa such as, amongst others, the Bakubung Platinum Mine and the Venetia Underground Project (VUP) and, most recently, was Executive Manager of Projects for all projects delivered from the South African office locally and globally (including those in the Chemicals and New Energy sectors). He reports to Denver Dreyer, previously CEO of WorleyParsons RSA, who has now assumed the role of Senior Vice President MM&M for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The Jacobs ECR acquisition – worth A$4,55 billion – was announced in October last year and completed in April this year. It has resulted in the creation of a combined engineering and professional services business that ranks as one of the largest of its kind globally, with nearly 60 000 employees and operations in more than 50 countries. Interestingly, although WorleyParsons and Jacobs ECR operated in the same sectors, their activities were largely complementary and the acquisition, as Dreyer recently pointed out, represents “a merger of two equals in terms of capabilities and competencies, strong records of delivering projects, and ethical codes of conduct.”
Hull says that the company has seen an upswing in activity compared to a year ago. “We’re very busy with studies, which is always a positive sign, and we’ve also secured some significant execution contracts, notably in platinum – both in South Africa and Zimbabwe – and other resources. Greenfield and brownfield work – including ‘stay-in-business’ and life extension projects – is picking up nicely.”
Hull notes that the Venetia Underground Project remains Worley’s flagship mining contract in Africa. Worley has been involved in the project since the feasibility stage and was awarded the full EPCM contract by De Beers in 2016. The US$2 billion project will extend the life of the Venetia mine into the 2040s and involves the creation of a new underground mine – accessed by two vertical shafts and a decline system – underneath the current open pits.
With much of Worley’s work in Africa’s mining sector currently focused on the southern African region, part of Hull’s brief is to expand the company’s footprint to other areas of Africa. “There’s no doubt that there has been a great deal of mining work on offer in Africa in recent years, and we are certainly keen to expand Worley’s penetration of these markets,” he states.
“We view Africa as a major growth area for our mining business and, broadly speaking, we are prepared to work anywhere on the continent as long as our ability to work in an ethical, safe and transparent manner is not compromised. Each project opportunity, of course, must be assessed on its individual merits and we have standard procedures in place for this which are applied throughout the Worley Group.”
Hull makes the point that the study and ‘front-end’ work that Worley carries out for mining clients and which used to be undertaken by the group’s advisory and consulting arm is now being handled directly by Worley’s MM&M business unit. “From a client perspective, the changeover is transparent as they will be dealing with the same teams working off the same systems and from the same offices.”
On the subject of the ‘digitalisation’ of mining, Hull emphasises that Worley is a world leader in the application of digital techniques to the planning, design and execution of mining projects, with the South African office having been responsible for the design and development of much of the group’s leading-edge technology in mining and minerals processing.
“We have developed techniques that revolutionise project design and implementation,” he says. “They allow for significant savings in cost and time and give not only our own engineers but also clients a real insight into how their projects will look and perform. In essence, a ‘digital twin’ of the project is created which can be viewed using virtual reality technology. The level of detail available is incredible. To give you an example, it is perfectly possible now to stand on a site, select a component or part such as a pump or valve in the digital twin and call up the name of the manufacturer, the part number, the specs and other relevant information.”
Worley’s digital offering draws on data centric design technology that utilises rapid prototyping, and other innovative processes such as Industrial and Building Information Modelling (BIM) to create a sophisticated digital project design platform and prepare for project execution as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. Building Information Modelling augments the three primary spatial dimensions of width, height and depth with 4D, 5D and 7D technology. The incorporation of 7D technology, the most recent development, takes the ‘digital twin’ concept into a project’s operational phase.
Benefits of using the technology include improved design and construction productivity, early identification of crucial design oversights that lead to expensive rework, streamlined implementation of scope changes, and real-time progress reporting.
“We’ve already applied our digital technology to several projects here in South Africa – and indeed further afield – and we’re rolling it out fully on a major new project we’ve recently been awarded,” says Hull. “The client is very receptive to innovation and has embraced the concept wholeheartedly. Moving forward, the intention is to apply our digital capabilities to all of this client’s projects that would benefit from it and we are working on this delivery strategy.”
Hull adds that Worley can also deploy its unique StepWise process to expediently create option analyses for clients. This is a fully integrated financial and technical process model that assists clients to make strategic decisions on potential investments, especially in the resource sector, with a focus on maximising returns while minimising and managing exposure to risk. Opportunities and risks are identified early in the process, thereby offering real value choices quickly and at a very low cost.
Summing up, Hull says that Worley – in the wake of its acquisition of Jacobs ECR – is now better equipped than ever to provide its mining clients in Africa with a full service offering across the entire mining business value chain, with its global capabilities meshing seamlessly with its in-depth knowledge of mining in Africa derived from more than 35 years of engagement with the continent’s resources sector. “We already have a strong track record behind us in Africa and we intend to build on this to become the partner of choice for mining companies operating across the continent.”
