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M84 4 Geotech is a geotechnical company specialising in supply and installation of rockfall protection and mitigation systems, slope stabilisation and slope monitoring. It is accredited by The Institute for Work at Height, providing services in mining (open and underground), construction, building maintenance and the public sector. 

Founding CEO Khomotso Moleke explains, “Our aim is to keep those who are working under any possible rockfall safe by putting reliable and effective measures in place to avoid harm to people or equipment. We install rockfall barriers, draped or anchored mesh-and-catch fences on high walls at open-pit mines for safe and controlled rockfalls and slope stabilisation. The mesh is applicable for underground support structures as well.” M84 Geotech falls under Moleke's M84 Holdings, which also includes M84 Properties: his management and development company that specialises in developing luxury residential properties and property acquisition.

Humble origins

He shares how M84 Geotech came into existence: “The company was founded in 2014. Initially, we were just a mine contractor and did any job that came along because the vision was not clear at the time. The main service we provided was the supply of mining safety cones.” After some time, the company was introduced to high-wall maintenance at Mogalakwena mine and trained a few of its employees to provide this service. “One of our first project was what we call 'barring down'. Barring down is when you move loose rocks on a high wall or rock debris on slope benches for safety of those working at the foot of the slope. Because each time there's a blast or failure, there are rocks that come loose on the high walls,” Moleke explains. “There was only one contractor doing this, and the mine was looking at empowering local black companies. 

We looked at it, we studied it, and saw it was an opportunity for us to grow our company. Because what we were doing with the mining safety cones wasn’t really sustainable.” The company has made much progress since then, but is still a relatively young player in the geotechnical industry. Moleke says the vision is to become a leading player in the supply and installation of rockfall protection and slope stabilisation systems on the continent. “When people think about rockfall protection and slope stabilisation, I want our name to be associated with that. The goal now for us is to increase our footprint; although we are very grateful to our current client, for growth and sustainability we need to get ourselves out there and service more mines.”

The passion is ignited

Moleke was born in 1984 in Jane Furse, but grew up and was schooled in the mining town of Mahwelereng, Limpopo Province, raised by a single mother. He was not very fond of school, and only became aware of entrepreneurship at a later stage. “I was faced with the questions of where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do with my life, and that was when I started reading business magazines. "My passion for business was ignited when I began reading about entrepreneurs. That drove me to study toward a BCom degree in Management at Unisa, although I didn’t have any background in commerce. But the drive and passion to get into business was what pushed me in that direction.” 

Moleke now has two BCom degrees as well as numerous other qualifications in investment, real estate development, and leadership. The latter has stood him in good stead in his role as CEO. He is a hands-on leader, being involved in many facets of the work. He adds, however, that “Part of leadership is not to allow people to lean on you for everything because that wouldn’t be wise. So I like to give people responsibilities and allow them to thrive in what they do. I’ve set up a good team on site, and I give them the opportunity to be responsible and report back to me. I wouldn’t want to centralise everything. It’s better to get people and trust them to do what you hired them to do.”

A stand-out company

What sets M84 Geotech apart is its prioritising of safety—not only of the worksite but also its technicians. “We do high-risk projects and usually go where most will say is impossible to access. That’s why safety is very important to us, and our technicians are well trained and equipped to do any work at height, especially high-wall and rockfall projects,” says the CEO. “We don't compromise on safety, and that's how we have been able to keep a 100% safety record. I always tell my team that they must be careful; if something is not safe to do, then let’s not do it until we can be sure we can do it safely.” In addition, he says, “Our technicians are not just abseilers— they are skilled and trained rope technicians who understand and know the mining environment. 

As a company, we invest in the best equipment to execute our projects in a safe and effective manner. I believe we offer solutions that keep open-pit operations safe from rockfall hazards, and our attitude in how we work with people on site has been commended by our clients.” Moleke is also proud of the fact that M84 Geotech is a business that is run ethically. “If you compromise on certain things, it will come back to bite you when you least expect it. So I think it's very important to be ethical in whatever you do—whether in business or personally. Also, it helps to have people around you to guide you, and put you right when you go off the rails.”
 

“ WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT ROCKFALL PROTECTION AND SLOPE STABILISATION, I WANT OUR NAME TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.”
 

Overcoming the doubt and fear

When Moleke started out with his company, many people doubted he would succeed. “It was a challenge. We always had to prove ourselves. It took us years to be given an opportunity. Experience was an issue. I hired some guys to come in on projects, but because of delays, they left and we had to work with inexperienced people. But we were determined to succeed, and we managed to complete the projects without any issues.” He remembers how worried his mother had been when he told her he was resigning his job to start his own business. “She looked at me as if to say, 'are you out of your mind?' She pointed out that I didn’t have a business background, and that drove some fear into me. 

I wasn't even sure myself about which business I would start, but that was what I decided I was going to do. “I had grown up seeing the mining trucks in the township, but it wasn’t something I had thought about getting into one day. I thought I’d start with real estate because that was one of the areas I was passionate about, but mining was the one that came first.” It took two years for his company to get a vendor number in order to become a supplier/ contractor for Anglo American Platinum. “When things were tough, I never once thought about returning to a salaried job,” Moleke reveals. “Even now when people ask me, 'what is your plan B', I say I don’t have a plan B—being in business is the plan. There's a plan A and it has to work one way or another. I don’t have any fallback plan.” Fear is never a reason to stop, he believes. “When it’s there, it means you’re on the right track. It means there's something great that you are doing. You must just push through the fear.”

Better things to come

Moleke says the one thing he has learnt about successful people is that they are passionate about what they do—and they are in it for the right reasons. “I’m in this because I love what I do. Money is secondary. I keep going because I love and I am passionate about what I do. When we started, I didn’t think it would take us seven years to be given an opportunity to do the kind of projects we are doing now, but I kept hoping and believing that one day we’d get something bigger which would open up opportunities for us in the industry. “And I think we are getting there. Now opportunities are there for us to expand around the country, and even the continent.” 

Projects already done include slope monitoring prism installations, water pipe securing, bush clearing on a high wall, fixing and unrolling drape mesh, barring down and—M84 Geotech's biggest and most successful yet—the installation of a 40 000 square metre drape mesh on a high wall at Anglo American's Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane, which is one of the largest openpit platinum mines in the world, Moleke notes. As an entrepreneur, he aims to build a brand—which will allow him to employ more people and leave a lasting legacy for his company. 

“I want to build something that can be valuable because I have a bigger vision for the M84 brand. Yes, I have other businesses as I'm passionate about property development too, but with M84 Geotech I want to build something sustainable which can be a foundation on which to build the M84 brand. “I don’t want to build something just for myself. I really want to build an organisation that can make a difference in the community.”

Source: AFRICAN mining news issue 10