GOING TO THE SOURCE

Speaking with Glenn Heard the general manager of AUMS, I was impressed to find that mining is literally in his blood. His father was a coal miner in Australia and Glenn studied mining engineering at university, although his tastes differ slightly, having initially followed his father into coal mining. It was hard rock mining that Glenn was most interested in and he made the move to Western Australia to hone the tools of his trade; the rest is history, so they say. As he explains, “Coal follows a seam whereas hard rock is three dimensional and to me far more exciting and challenging, add West Africa

into that mix and you have a recipe for never being bored.”

WHAT THEY DOIt seems that the worth of a company today is measured

by their expertise in as many fields as possible and mining companies/projects are expected to be able to offer as much as possible. AUMS has taken this on board from inception and is in the position to offer a client a one stop shop for all their needs and requirements and, apart from their core business of Underground Hard Rock contracting, they offer

African Underground Mining Services

African Underground Mining Services is a 50/50 joint venture between Ausdrill Limited and Barminco Limited; established in 2007 its main aim is to provide underground mining contract services to the mining industry in West Africa.

clients unmatched expertise in the following fields:• Mine Management• Mine Design• Conceptual/Feasibility Studies• SurveyingBy taking a proactive approach and providing the best

solutions for optimum productivity in the demanding underground mining environment AUMS has carved out a sterling reputation in an industry filled with far older companies. Proving their worth has been a simple matter of ensuring the highest levels of service and expertise. The teams who are mobilized are carefully assembled with the very best personnel possessing the right amounts of understanding and expertise in their respective fields. This approach has been vindicated with AUMS being awarded Newmont Africa Supplier of the Year in 2011. Altogether AUMS offer their clients a full suite of underground mining services.

“The last 2 years have been an exciting time for AUMS. We mobilised 4 new operations in 2010 and consolidated in 2011 with the Newmont Africa Supplier of the Year award and establishing a new benchmark for mechanised development mining at our Mali operations where our team set, what we believe to be, a world record for monthly advance with a single jumbo.”

The training of their workforce is of vital concern to AUMS, especially that of their national workforce. Due to the involvement of their parent companies, Ausdrill and Barminco, they are introducing the high Australian standards and technology to their projects and making use of expats

who can lend foundational support and experience to the jobs. Quality and efficiency are of the highest priority so everyone who is learning the job learns on the job and from the best available.

“Different countries in Africa have different maturity levels of underground operations, in Ghana for example there has been an underground culture present for over 100 hundred years, but it is labour intense. What we do differently is make use of modern technology, equipment and methods providing a better efficiency and hence smarter solutions to our clients” - Glenn Heard.

This use of the best equipment and tools allows AUMS to further educate and train staff, helping them gain valuable practical and career-enhancing knowledge in the use of the latest specific machinery. Importantly, this helps lay the building blocks for African Employee development by imparting expertise and experience something that is shared freely within this company.

Experience needs to be matched with the right tools and AUMS benefits from one of the most modern mechanised fleets of self-maintained underground mining equipment in Africa. Recognizing that by investing in continuous development of fleet and personnel, smarter solutions and faster response time can be garnered to meet their client’s needs.

Ausdrill Limited has been operating in Africa since 1991 though it is 100% owned subsidiary of African Mining Services (AMS). They give access to over 17 years of operational and logistical experience in Africa, providing African Underground Mining Services with an established

African Underground Mining Services

African Underground Mining Services

network and country experience.Barminco, as Australia’s largest Underground Hard Rock

Mining Contractor with numerous operating contracts throughout Australia, brings the “equipment and know-how” to the AUMS joint venture.

The careful balance of these two joint venture partners provides AUMS with the hands-on African experience they need while allowing a dedicated focus on the best practice initiatives by bringing expertise in Australian Underground Mechanised Mining standards and productivities to the African Continent.

SAFETYAUMS is very proud of its safety management system

and rightly so. Initially developed by Barminco Limited and incorporating extensive, workable safety procedures that have been implemented successfully in our West African Operations, the AUMS motto is “Attitude is the key to Safety”.

With an impeccable safety record no one can argue that it is indeed the attitude of the employees that is the key to safety. Studies at major sites across the globe have found that major accidents occur due to an accumulation of relatively small incidents that can be easily overlooked. The only way to safeguard against these is through managing the attitude of employees on an individual basis and training them to pay attention to the small details. Largely, prevention of accidents can be attributed to good management and leadership on all levels.

“Our safety record has consistently been on par with

or better than our Australian compatriates and when you consider the environment we operate in, it is a testament to our systems and the beliefs of our management. Generally speaking when we start an operation there is a lack of inherent safety culture in the local workforce we employ. Therefore, it is essential for the success of our business that we provide the safety culture, we instil that attitude. You know you are starting to win when the employees take that culture home with them at the end of the shift.”

As a large organisation with extensive experience AUMS have had the resources to develop a sophisticated safety management system infrastructure which automatically includes appropriate checks and balances to ensure their primary goal of SAFE production is met and that they are able to provide all operations with the highest level of support in the areas of environment, health and safety.

In a pro-active move to develop and improve policies with health, safety and environmental policies, employees are continually assessed on all training requirements, and procedures are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure all personnel receive the necessary training to complete their job safely. With this in mind AUMS have entered into a partnership with Registered Training Organisations and are working toward training all personnel to the Australian National Standards.

In conclusion, AUMS’ offering is one of assured quality, safety and reliability. A fantastic multi-faceted partner relying and benefitting from skills, top-end knowledge, experience and understanding, complete preparing and planning, and strong, dynamic leadership.

Established in 2007, AUMS with our “can do” attitude has gained a reputation for excellence, offering clients the complete suite of services from feasibility all the way through to production.Applying proven methods, knowledge and expertise and backed by unsurpassed safety per-formance, AUMS is focused on being the “contractor of choice” on the African Continent, by Providing excellence in project delivery to our clients. Our core competencies include:

UNDERGROUND MINING PROFESSIONALS

· Jumbo Development· Production Mining· Diamond Drilling

· Shotcreting· Vertical development· Engineering Consulting and Design

3 North Airport RoadAirport Residential AreaAccra, GhanaTEL +233 (0) 302 763 875FAX +233 (0) 302 763 274info@aumsgh.comwww.aumsgh.com

African Underground Mining Serviceswww.aumsgh.com+23 33 02 61 1333

Written by Don Campbell

www.littlegatepublishing.com