WADE WALKER MAURITANIA PROJECT

March 2011

Wade Walker always succeeds in overcoming the challenges.

Working in Africa involves special challenges, as Seán Egner, project manager at Wade Walker, explains in describing the company’s recently completed contract in Mauritania. “Many of our project sites are fairly remote from urban centres. Logistics can be challenging because of weak infrastructure and communication networks and also because few African countries will have stocks of material, products or supplies required for projects of any complexity.”

Consequently, contractors must ensure that every single item required for a contract, right down to specific bolts and nuts, is planned, itemised and transported with them to site.

Egner believes that one of the reasons why Wade Walker was favoured for the electrical and instrumentation work at Guelb Moghrein mine is the company’s extensive track record in Africa with similar E&I projects. Guelb Moghrein is owned by Mauritanian Copper Mines (MCM) which is a First Quantum Subsidiary.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd, which undertakes mineral exploration, development, mining and refining, produces LME grade “A” copper cathode, copper in concentrate, gold and sulphuric acid.

In 2009 Wade Walker was contracted for the electrical works on the new high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) plant, the electrical and instrumentation works on the scavenger plant and the installation of powerlines to various boreholes in the saline borefields outside Bennichchab.

“We actually arrived at the location, some 250 km north east of the capital Nouakchott near the town of Akjoujt, in January 2010, in advance of the material being delivered,” Egner says. “We were contracted to undertake extra work retrofitting the new testing laboratories on site for the mine while waiting for access to the HPGR plant and the boreholes.”

According to Egner, Wade Walker was engaged on the original works when MCM commenced construction in early 2005, installing diesel generators at a power station in Bennichchab, building powerlines and plant work. “There are both saline and fresh water borefields,” he says. “Our initial work involved boreholes in the fresh water borefields. This time we worked in the saline borefields, building powerlines to the boreholes and installing the control panels which provide the telemetry back to the mine.”

Wade Walker offers clients the additional benefit of highly experienced site project teams which have considerable expertise working in remote locations and understand what must take place and what can go wrong. They are empowered to make decisions which ensure the successful completion of projects.

Technical problems were not the only difficulties to overcome. Geography and lack of local infrastructure meant that we had to stay in the main camp in Akjoujt and travel out to where the powerlines were built, on a daily basis – a journey of two to three hours there and the same time back. There are no paved roads – one navigates across deserts and constantly shifting dunes.”

Safety was another risk at the forefront of our minds and this was especially so on the process plant itself as it was in operation. “With both production and construction taking place in the same area, we had to take special safety precautions,” Egner points out. Wade Walker was able to draw on its extensive expertise to ensure zero lost time injuries.

“Of course we have the advantage of the considerable experience we have working in Africa,” Egner says. “We have a highly reputable track record in countries as far flung as Senegal, Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, the Congo, Ghana and Zambia and we are well aware of the multitude of specific challenges common to the region, the logistical and procurement demands, the language and legal hurdles and the shortage of local skills.”

When operating in Africa, Wade Walker brings its project management team and most of its senior or specialist and semi-skilled artisans with, to compensate for the scarcity of skills in the local regions. “It also ensures that leadership and artisans can communicate freely, since English is not spoken by all in these countries. However, we do have many ex-patriots on our staff who can speak the local languages and are familiar with the environment and conditions, so we hand pick them for those contracts as well.”

In addition to handling these typically African challenges, Wade Walker is renowned for its ability to work under extreme time pressure and complete its contracts within budget. “Inevitably, either the civil or mechanical work experiences delays, which restricts the time we have available, but due to the relationships of trust we have developed and our own flexibility and expertise, we have become known as one of the leading E&I companies operating in Africa.”

Wade Walker completed the project in June 2010.