Terra Nova Technologies (TNT), the materials handling business owned by Murray and Roberts (M&R) Cementation Americas, has bagged an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with a large copper producer valued at $200m in South America.
The California-based TNT provides materials-handling design, consulting services and general contracting to the mining and minerals industries globally.
TNT was acquired by M&R’s Cementation Americas in 2019 and was a strong contributor to the group’s earnings before the pandemic.
However, it has since been in a loss-making position due to its low order book and the delay in project awards so its 51% share in the joint venture with Ingeniería y Construcción Sigdo Koppers is expected to give it a much-needed boost.
“This significant award reinforces TNT’s strong capability to deliver complete EPC material handling systems in Latin America,” M&R said in a statement on Monday.
It said the deal was “a welcome order for the business, who had to rebuild its order book since the end of Covid-19, as limited materials handling opportunities came to market during this period”.
The project is expected to run over 27 months from April when it kicks off, the group said. The scope of work includes a primary crushing facility, a 6.3km long overland conveyor, a 23kV power transmission system, and associated infrastructure.
Sigdo Koppers Ingeniería y Construcción is part of the corporate group of Chilean resources Sigdo Koppers, a provider of products and services for mining and industry.
The JSE-listed M&R is recovering from the loss of its Australian subsidiaries, MRPL, Clough and RUC Cementation Mining Contractors.
After the hit in Australia, the group is now an engineering and contracting services company, focused on the Africa and Americas underground mining markets, and renewable energy and power infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa.
M&R reported a significant narrowing of its losses in the six months to the end of December, with the company saying its new capital structure and financing arrangements would create a “leaner and more agile group”.
In the light of its smaller size, M&R has been implementing a sustainable capital structure which, apart from the refinancing of the group’s debt, has included a thorough cost review necessitating several rationalisation and restructuring decisions.
After the recent management shake-ups, TNT is now headed by Stephen Kou.
After rising as much as 5.13% in intraday trade, Murray and Roberts’ share price was trading 2.56% higher on Monday afternoon at R1.20.
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