Q and A: M8 Geotech making mining safer

Tell us a bit about M84 Geotech’s journey.
The company started out of my desire to be self-employed. Because Mokopane is a mining town the company started out as a vendor for the for the Anglo American Mogalakwena Mine. We started by supplying valves, and oil coolers, then safety cones and safety signage. We supplied safety cones and signage for the mine and Anglo American Polokwane smelters. However, our ambition was always to build a sustainable and profitable business and that’s when the shift was made from being just a supplier to a provider of geotechnical services. Because this is a specialised and high risk area, we had to prove ourselves as a company and grow from each opportunity we were offered. 

We did the necessary training required and invested in equipment to start bidding for opportunities at the Mogalakwena Mine. One of our first projects was to do barring down a rocky slope, and after that more opportunities arose. Now the company is fully focused and specialises in slope stabilisation, rockfall protection, rockfall barriers, anchor installation and testing, barring down and slope monitoring prism installation. We have offices in Mokopane and Polokwane and we are able to service any mine or clients across the country. Currently we have a team of 11 people working with us on our projects; some of them from local communities in Mokopane who have been funded by the company to do rope access training.

“Doing a high risk job and maintaining a 100% safety record will always be a milestone I cherish, because safety is a priority in our company.”

What are some of the milestones achieved by M84 Geotech?
We were the first black-owned company from Mokopane to be given an opportunity to install drape mesh at one of pits at the Mogalakwena Mine. I believe that opportunity has opened doors for us, and we are now seen as serious player in the field. Doing a high risk job and maintaining a 100% safety record will always be a milestone I cherish, because safety is a priority in our company. Another milestone for us is that we completed each project we got from the mine, some of which were a first for us; a good record to have.

What is the vision you have for M84 Geotech, and the plans going forward?
The shift we made from being a supplier of safety cones into a more specialised field was intentional because I wanted us to do something that would allow us to specialise, scale up and be a leader or a preferred contractor. 

I want the name M84 Geotech to be synonymous with rockfall protection and slope stabilisation mitigation. For now, we might be the “new kid” on the block, and it might be difficult at first for some to take us seriously, but I believe we are slowly building a very good reputation for ourselves. We are delivering on each project we do, and it is just a matter of time and consistency until more clients start noticing us and open those doors of opportunity. 

The more we do this, the more I realise there is so much we can learn and offer the industry. The long-term goal is for the mines to see us as their partner when it comes to keeping their open pit mines safe from rockfall hazards, and to be a leading player in the geotechnical space, not only for the mining industry but construction and other related industries.

Which industries would benefit the most from the service offerings of M84 Geotech?
Mining (open and underground), civil construction, and oil and gas are some of the industries which can benefit from our services. We are a work-atheight accredited company using rope access techniques, so any service which requires our skill is an opportunity for us.

What are the main opportunities and challenges in the geotechnical engineering field locally?
The scope for geotechnical engineering is huge in South Africa and the continent, mostly in the mining and construction spaces. Our country is blessed with minerals and to mine those minerals safely, geotechnical engineering will always be needed in the planning, designing, exploration and operational stages. Whether a mine is on the surface or underground, geotech plays a huge role in ensuring slopes are monitored and proper support is in place for underground wall support. 

We install monitoring prisms on high walls for mine engineers to monitor movements on the pit slopes and provide structural support systems to prevent any geohazards that might cause harm if there was no protection. In the construction space, roads and buildings must be constructed on well supported ground for them to be safe and last a long time. Geotechnical engineering provides the planning, testing and calculations needed for a construction project to be implemented successfully. There are also opportunities in landslide prevention through erosion control, using high tensile steel wire anchored mesh for reinforcement, gabion walls and shot creting. Over the past few years there have been major breakthroughs from a technology perspective.

How has this aided in optimising operations?
The use of drones to do site assessment has proven to be efficient and save time when it comes to assessing a site. To provide clients with the right solutions and to properly cost a project, we have to do a site assessment of the area of work and sometimes we need to install anchors for technicians to access the high wall. With drones, this process can be shortened and save costs. We can assess the area quicker without the need for a technician. Technology has also helped in improving the strength of the equipment we use, such as the harnesses and ropes we use for abseiling, which means our technicians are safer when doing their job.

M84 Geotech operates in high-risk areas. Tell us a bit about this.
Our work is to make areas safe which are exposed to possible rockfall hazards, and while doing that, we are exposing ourselves to possible risks. So, it’s very important that skilled technicians are employed to tackle each project and job risk assessment are done to put proper measures in place for a successful project delivery. The priority we put on safety is not only the safety of our technicians, but how we implement safety measures to keep sites safe from free falling rocks. 

Our goal with each site is to first find the safest and most efficient way to implement the project and staying safe throughout the project. We don’t do it if we believe it’s not safe to do until we find a safe way to do it. We give mines the assurance that they can continue their operations with confidence once our solutions are put in place. Mining safely is all that each mining house wants for their business and that’s what we promise and deliver on. We don’t compromise when it comes to safety standards for abseiling and using the safest installation methods.