Africa’s biggest EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) organisation, TWP Projects continues to expand locally and internationally within the mining and infrastructure sectors, and is currently managing over $25bn of project capital. A specialist in providing technical and project management professional solutions across the built environment industries, TWP, with its parent company Basil Read, has also extended its service offering to include a full turnkey solution including design, project management and construction across virtually the entire spectrum of engineering for the built environment. 

Within South Africa’s borders, TWP is currently managing a significant number of shaft projects, including Impala No 17 Shaft, undoubtedly TWP’s flagship project, and arguably the biggest shaft sinking project presently underway anywhere in the world. Described as the ‘most challenging and complex’ project undertaken by TWP to date, the project is also considered as extremely successful, having met all deadlines, and achieving a number of accolades since inception. On 15 May 2011, the project reached a major safety milestone of one million fatality-free shifts worked, and 8.5 million fatality-free hours worked, which took nearly four years to achieve.

TWP’s relationship with Impala Platinum was cemented in 2004, when the company was awarded the EPCM contract for Impala’s No 20 shaft, marking the start of TWP’s first successful deep shaft project on the Western Limb.  TWP will be on site until early 2012 until smooth production ramp-up is being managed. The company has also been awarded the feasibility study for No 18 Shaft by Impala Platinum. 

Other shaft sinking projects are currently underway for Wesizwe Platinum’s Frischgewaagd-Ledig mine, Royal Bafokeng Platinum/Anglo Platinum’s Styldrift platinum project, and Anglo Platinum’s Thembelani shaft project.

TWP has knowledge and capability across many commodities in addition to platinum, including most base metals, gold, diamonds, ferrous metals and coal. It is busy with the feasibility study for De Beers Consolidated Mines’ (DBCM) Venetia diamond mine in Limpopo, and is currently expanding Gold Field’s South Deep plant, in addition to various process plant projects for gold, platinum, copper and cobalt refineries. The company is also completing a number of feasibility studies with blue chip companies moving into execution, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Tanzania. Its current coal portfolio is also noteworthy, including a concept study on the Dalyshope project for Anglo American Thermal Coal (AATC); a pre-feasibility study on the New Vaal life extension project also for AATC; a feasibility study on the De Wittekrans Project in the Hendrina region for Continental Coal; a feasibility study on the development of the Ncondezi project in the Zambezi coal basin of Mozambique for Ncondezi Coal; the Forzando West feasibility study for Total Coal; the EPCM contract for Continental Coal’s Penumbra project; and the feasibility study for the Beacon Hill Resources’s Minas Moatize project in the Zambezi coal basin of Mozambique.

TWP’s international operations are also gaining momentum. Its branch in Australia is showing significant recovery and is currently moving to larger premises, and its Peru office, TWP Sudamerica, is expanding rapidly. Established just over one year ago, the Peru office has a staff complement of nearly 90 and a confirmed order book of approximately $10 million across Peru, Colombia and Chile. TWP in SA recently hosted a delegation from Codelco, the Chilean State-owned copper mining company, who were in South Africa on a two-week visit to inspect major shaft complexes in a view to consider expanding their opencast mines to underground operations, as South Africa is regarded as an expert in this field.