PW MINING

AFRICA PW MINING

A mainstay of West African mining

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Choice The Partner of

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PW Mining has built up a formidable reputation in West Africa for being a reliable contractor to some of the region’s most important projects Writer: Tom Wadlow Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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hanaian mining is on the rise.

Currently the secondlargest African producer of gold, the West African nation is also a prolific miner of bauxite, iron ore and manganese, minerals which have helped the sector record revenues of around $1.27 billion in the second quarter of 2018.

This is the culmination of a steady, sustained growth period since the start of 2016, which saw Q1 income reach a comparatively modest $577 million.

“One thing you can always say is that West Africa is an exciting place,” comments Tony O’Neill, General Manager (Contracts) at Ghana’s PW Mining. “There are a number of mining projects coming online, and we are chasing opportunities across quite a few.”

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PW is a leading general contractor, operating in contract mining, civil engineering, building construction and property development, with industrial construction representing another area of expertise.

While current mining opportunities appear aplenty according to O’Neill, PW as an engineering operator can be traced back 70 years when it was incorporated as H&D Flinn in Ireland.

“By 1963 the Company had undergone massive expansion, playing a major role in some of the largest, most prestigious civil engineering projects ever undertaken in the country,” O’Neill adds. “To reflect its developing status, the name was changed to Public Works Ltd and later to PW Ltd.” Indeed, the firm began operating in West Africa in the early 1970s before the Ghana subsidiary founded in 1995. In 2007, PW Mining was formed

as a business unit to address the ever-growing mining workload being undertaken, with its footprint today stretching from Sierra Leone to the Republic of Congo.

Striking gold with Teranga

In Burkina Faso, the Company has undertaken a three-pronged series of work for Teranga Gold Corporation at its Wahgnion Gold Project.

Having tracked the potential of this site for several years prior to being awarded its contract, PW initially secured the site earthworks development which it began in January 2018.

Thereafter it signed up for a concrete works package, and finally a contract for pit development in the Nangolo Pit on site, rounding off a project that demonstrates to prospective mining clients in the region the breadth of its capabilities.

TONY O’NEILL AND PW MINING O’Neill has been involved with the Company since 1997, having worked in several engineering and management positions in the Irish construction industry.

“At that point, I felt that the time had come to make a change of location and career direction, in the overseas market,” he recalls.

“Therefore, when I spotted the recruitment advertisement by PW, I applied for a position.

“I liked the thought of coming to Africa and experiencing new culture and practices. I was hired and initially I thought I’d give the expat life a couple of years. 22 years later and I have still not returned, and I have enjoyed every bit of my career here. I’ve been able to gain experience, both professional and personal, which I would most likely not have encountered had I remained at home.”

CORE CONSTRUCTION

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stablished in 1995, Core Construction Limited operates with a mission to focus on improving urban and rural infrastructure in general building and civil engineering in Ghana.

The Company is headquartered in Accra and is able to draw on a strong pool of experience in the form of its employee base, who uphold the firm’s high standards for quality project delivery and customer service.

Core Constructions services can be split into four main areas of expertise, the first being building and civil engineering, which has seen several projects realised for the likes of international companies and Ghana’s Ministry of Roads and Highways. Other service areas include asphalt processing and sales, bitumen processing and sales, and quarry services.

Platinum Seal Limited Core’s subsidiary company, Platinum Seal Limited, is a specialist supplier of all grades of Polymer Modified Bitumen and Asphalt.

Founded in 2007, the firm runs Ghana’s largest bitumen processing facility, which is also the biggest to be found across all of sub-Saharan Africa.

Platinum Seal manages an 800 tons/ hour bitumen processing plant and asphalt plants, including a 120-tonne site located in Tema. The Company also has a very wide range of construction equipment available for rental hire to other contractors who may have urgent Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx need of supplementary equipment at their project sites.

Both Core and Platinum operate with the following philosophies: • Gaining trust in hard work and honesty • Winning with quality works • Developing with innovations using cutting edge technology T +233 302 260112 E info@coreconstructiongh.com

www.coreconstructiongh.com

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Core Construction Limited is a leading construction company based in Accra, Ghana with a focus on improving urban and rural infrastructure in general building and civil engineering in Ghana.

The company has it’s own bitumen and asphalt production facility (under the name Platinum Seal Limited) and a quarry (under the name Platinum Seal Quarries Limited).

We also supply on commercial basis our products and services which ranges from general construction & civil engineering, bitumen and asphalt processing & sales, quarry aggregates and equipment rentals.

www.coreconstructiongh.com

This is a branch of Core Construction Limited which deals primarily in the bitumen production section of the company. It is located at Gomoa - Akotsi, along the Accra - Winneba road.

The company is the biggest bitumen processing facility in Ghana and Sub-Sahara Africa. It is the first company to introduce Polymeric Bitumen Emulsion into the country. With sophisticated equipment and technology the faciliy produces all kinds of bitumenuous products ranging from emulsion, cut-backs, polymer modified bitumen, asphalt cements, glass beads, etc.

Platinum Seal also produces asphalt of all grades. It operates a 150 tons/hour hot mix asphalt plant which is customized with its own PMB processor and a 120 tons/hour mobile hot mix asphalt plant located in Kpone, Tema. We are also located in Kumasi and Elubo.

The latest addition to the expansion drive of the group.

Platinum Seal Quarries Limited was recently established to serve the company’s high demand of quarry aggregates.

The facility is located along the Shai Hills. It is equipped with a 250 tons/hour stationary line and a 150 tons/ hour mobile crushers. We produce all kinds and sizes of chippings and quarry dusts. The facility is also engaged in mining, civil engineering and water exploration.

T +233 302 260112 E info@coreconstructiongh.com

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Commenting on its upcoming pipeline of work, O’Neill adds: “We have numerous opportunities but each one will be hard fought for by ourselves and our competitors.

This is a very competitive period for contractors such as us.

“The most exciting project right now is the move into the Esaase operations for Asanko Gold in Ghana. This opens up a new phase on the Obotan gold mine and all contract parties involved, and the local communities and other stakeholders share our excitement, recognising the benefits this new mining front will bring to Ghana.”

all contract mining at the Obotan Gold Mine for the complete lifecycle for Resolute Mining from Australia.

“This project demonstrated that we had made the jump from a wellknown and respected civil engineering contractor into a fully-fledged mining contractor.”

From here, the Company routinely broke into new markets and built up a formidable track record of completing milestone projects.

“North Mara in Tanzania (2002), Youga in Burkina Faso (2007) and Syama in Mali (2008) were landmark projects for us, clear stepping stones which have taken PW Mining to its Back to the beginning current position in the African mining The Obotan mine also represents an sector,” adds O’Neill. important historical milestone for PW. More recently the firm secured “Our first venture into open pit mining contract mining work at Obotan from remains a precious memory,” recalls Asanko Gold, a happy return for PW O’Neill. “Starting in 1997, we performed after the mine was reopened.

E.O. QUICK-FIX

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.O. Quick-Fix Enterprise was established by a team of engineers who have been in the mining sector for the past 15 years in Ghana.

Their vision is to become one of the best maintenance teams in Ghana and Africa at large when it comes to shut down and preventive maintenance.

The Company also supplies welding consumables and personal protective equipment to mining companies and industries in Ghana. The vision of the Company therefore is to extend its supplies and services throughout West Africa and Africa at large.

T +233 20 9893418, +233 2766 22599, +233 5457 89622 E e.o.quickfix@gmail.com

www.quicksolutionsgh.com

DICKO DEE COMPANY. LTD.

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icko Dee Company Limited’s primary focus is to provide its customers within the oil and gas industry with a dedicated and professional service, as well as advice on the correct lubricants for various engines and machinery.

“One thing you can always say is that West Africa is an exciting place... There are a number of mining projects coming online, and we are chasing opportunities across quite a few”

Since being established in 2003, the Company has expanded and has three branches within Ghana and has become one of the top dealers in Shell lubricants. Its independence affords the flexibility to be able to tailor services best suited to a fast paced and ever ready market.

The Company also provides its products and services to the shipping, manufacturing and industrial sectors.

T +233 20 817 5726 E dickodee2003@yahoo.com

www.dickodee.com.gh

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E.O. QUICK-FIX ENTERPRISE Home of quality products and services

T: +233 20 9893418 | +233 2766 22599 | +233 5457 89622 E: e.o.quickfix@gmail.com | www.quicksolutionsgh.com

Protect your engine and your business The demand for a wide variety and choice of fuels, especially in the development of low sulphur fuel oil, is increasing and DDCL is committed to ensuring that product integrity is maintained to the very highest levels.

At Dicko Dee Company Limited, We sell and provide a very wide range of shell lubricants to suit your everyday lubrication needs. We assist individual groups or persons in identifying the right Shell Lubricant product for your vehicles and machinery.

Help Lines +233 030 281 4193 +233 020 817 5726

+233 027 744 3387 +233 020 843 8726 +233 024 456 2222

dickodee2003@yahoo.com

www.dickodee.com.gh

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Standing out

For O’Neill, a key factor in PW’s successful track record is its ability to respond flexibly and make decisions quickly thanks to its relatively flat organisational structure and private ownership.

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“One of our key objectives as a company is to deliver top class value and service to our clients by providing cost effective, quality workmanship which is executed with due regard to all HSE parameters, and to deliver completion of our contracts on agreed timelines,” he explains. “These points

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are critical to us, and we strive to achieve all of them on all projects.”

This value and service proposition has been boosted by the opening of a new centralised equipment maintenance workshop in Tema.

Around 4,000 square metres in size, the facility consolidates operations for heavy equipment and transport

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and caters for in-house component rebuilding. The site also has a purposebuilt customs bonded area to improve clearing times from the port.

“During 2018 we imported additional dozers, and articulated and rigid dumptrucks to support our load and haul operations,” says O’Neill. “These purchases not only serve to replace

equipment reaching the end of effective service, but also to grow our fleet to enable readiness for a quick start up on newly secured projects.

“In that vein, a new CAT 6030 excavator arrived in Ghana in Q4 2018 and throughout the year the production fleet has been supplemented by further procurement of support equipment.”

People and partners

While investment in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities has been crucial to PW’s ability to serve clients, the firm is also reliant on its team of boundary-pushing employees.

To ensure the Company has the best chance of attracting and retaining the requisite talent, it provides generous compensation and benefits packages, industry-leading working conditions

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PW Mining is aiming to become a go-to contractor

and opportunities for training and professional development.

For O’Neill, the latter is especially important. “We have always believed in encouragement of innovation and initiative,” he says. “If staff are up for a challenge, we will recognise that and will certainly provide the opportunity to confront it.

“Many of our staff recognise that PW will encourage them towards levels of performance that previously they may not have attained. By offering these opportunities we build up a loyal team of employees.”

PW can also draw on a loyal base of partners that make up its procurement and supply chain network.

These companies specialise in sourcing, inspecting, shipping and clearing goods across West Africa, facilitating a seamless operation, while major suppliers of equipment and materials are utilised locally where possible.

“Partnerships are vital,” says O’Neill.

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I want us to strengthen our reputation to the point that our mining clients consider us to be a strategic partner – they believe that we are the best contract mining company in Africa” “They should be based on all facets of the business relationship, and while cost is vitally important, we feel it is equally important not to become blinkered by this single parameter.

“Time and again we observe the good-fast-cheap triangle at play. You can get any two but not all three. We have built up solid relationships with key partners, reaching the optimum position with them in terms of value, quality and expediency.”

And it is this threefold value that O’Neill hopes and expects to continue delivering to its own clients in the future.

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He concludes: “I want us to strengthen our reputation to the point that our mining clients consider us to be a strategic partner – they believe that we are the best contract mining company in Africa, they wish to partner with us on a repeat basis and they know us for our integrity, excellence, and quality of delivery.”

PW Mining Tel: +233 30518112 pwm@pwmil.com www.pwmil.com

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Ardent fire is a well-known brand in Sales and after sales Services of fire protection equipment for heavy duty and sensitive installations. The company is now an established player in the Mining, Oil & Gas and allied industries in Ghana and West Africa known for its delivery of up-to-the minute fire protection solutions.

Ardent Fire Protection Ghana Limited

T +233(0)30 700 2401 M +233(0)24 438 3943 E info@ardentghana.com

Our Services Sales, Installation & Services of: • Fire Suppression Systems • Fire Detection & Alarm Systems • Portable Fire Extinguishers • Fire Risk Assessment

VOTRE PARTENAIRE DE RÉFÉRENCE POUR TOUS VOS PROJETS MINIERS.

www.ardentghana.com

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PW House, 10 Abidjan Avenue, East Legon, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233302518112 pwm@pwmil.com www.pwmil.com

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