Byrnecut Mining - Underground Mining Contractors

Byrnecut Mining is Australia's leading specialist underground mining contractor, offering a unique range of services and depth of experience.

The company and its affiliates are active at more than 20 underground nickel, gold, copper, chromite, zinc and lead mines in Australia and overseas, playing a vital role in the profitable operation of these sites by:

• Developing more than 65km per year using jumbo, raise drilling, boxhole drilling and shaft sinking techniques
• Completing over 850,000 longhole drilled metres a year
• Mining in excess of 8,000,000t of ore per year using sub-level caving, longhole open stoping and mechanised flat back cut and fill
• Mine haulage in excess of 35,000,000t km per year
• Installing more than 600,000 rockbolts and cable bolts, and spraying over 100,000m³ of fibrecrete per year

With more than 1,500 employees, Byrnecut boasts the skills and expertise required to operate a sophisticated contracting business. This includes cutting-edge knowledge in areas such as occupational health and safety, equipment management and maintenance, purchasing and contract administration.

Contract underground mining – the total approach

In nearly all cases our scope of work takes the form of full development and production contracts whereby Byrnecut provide the full complement of people, equipment and materials to develop the orebody and mine the ore on the behalf of the mine owner. This arrangement provides the mine owner with relatively known costs going forward, minimal exposure to capital equipment costs, virtual elimination of industrial relations issues and a high degree of flexibility. The mine owner can gear up or down within a short period of time without cost penalties due to our ability to mobilize or demobilize our men and equipment. In some case we have life of mine contracts.

Mine feasibility, design and production services

Our range of services include the following:

• Mine feasibility, design and project implementation
• Mine project management
• Whole of mine development
• Whole of mine production
• Mine rehabilitation – lateral and vertical development rehabilitation

Shotcrete, raise drilling and shaft sinking services

Byrnecut Mining offers the following shotcrete, raise drilling and shaft sinking services:

• Onsite concrete/shotcrete, manufacture, supply, delivery and application
• Remote shotcrete application of shafts from 9m diameter to 1.8m diameter, maximum depth 300m
• High-strength shotcrete reaching up to 120MPa compressive strength
• Specialised wet mixes capable of holding shotcrete in a workable condition for up to three days
• Raise drilling: from 1.1m diameter up to 6.0m diameter and 1,000m depth
• Shaft sinking
• Mechanical and electrical engineering services

International contract mining division

In 1999 Byrnecut Mining established an international division to continue the expansion of the company. Byrnecut Mining International Ltd has been successful in securing a number of contacts and is able to offer clients a wide range of mining solutions. Work completed and currently in progress includes the following:

• In Tanzania we developed a decline and a 1,000mr deep shaft for Barrick at the Bulyanhulu Mine
• In Ireland at New Boliden’s Tara Mine, we completed decline and level access contract works
• In Indonesia we are carrying out development, production and shaft sinking work at Kencana Decline for PT Newcrest Halmehera
• In Zambia at Albidon Ltd Munali Nickel Project we undertook the jumbo development and production drilling
• In Burkina Faso we won an EPCM contract to develop the Perkoa Zinc Mine for AIM Resources
• In Kazakhstan we have formed Central Asia Mining to develop the Voskhod Chromite Mine for Oriel Mining
• In the Congo we conducted the production drilling at the Anvil Mining Dikulushi Copper Project

Underground mining is a specialised business. Our business. Byrnecut delivers a more efficient, safer mine, and a better bottom-line.