Brauteseth breaks new ground with Sandvik partnership

Founded in 1983, Brauteseth Blasting today has an active footprint in the civils, quarrying and opencast mining sectors, having seen especially exciting growth in the last few years. According to company MD Clive Brauteseth, who has headed up the business since 1989, its work was traditionally in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, but this has changed to a national footprint as well as across-border footprint.

“Demand for our services has seen our operations expand exponentially in recent years and we are working on contracts in the Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga,” says Brauteseth. “We have also just started work on a copper mining project in Zambia, which is very exciting for us.”

Underpinning this growth have been regular equipment acquisitions from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, in a strong collaboration that dates back to 2005, says Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions account manager Andre Blom.

Across the range

“The recent high-water mark of this relationship was Brauteseth Blasting’s purchase of units from every one of Sandvik’s boom drill ranges – within a single year,” says Blom. “This included the Leopard DI550 and Leopard DI650 down-the-hole drill rigs from our Leopard range, the Pantera DP1500i and the Ranger DX800 and Ranger DX900i surface top hammer drill rigs.”

The application of Sandvik’s boom drills spans a wide spectrum, he points out, reflecting on how the scope of Brauteseth Blasting’s work has broadened. With its steady expansion, the company also ramped up its capital investments in 2021 and into 2022.

“We first entered the opencast mine drill and blast space in 2010 on one of the biggest anthracite projects in the country situated in KwaZulu-Natal. This was followed by a drill and blast project in phosphates in the Limpopo province in 2020,” says Brauteseth. These projects led to the acquisition of Leopard DI550 and Leopard DI650 drill rigs – designed for demanding high-capacity production drilling in medium-sized to large opencast mining operations.

Those orders brought the number of Sandvik drill rigs acquired by the company over the years to almost 50, with that landmark sure to be exceeded by the end of 2023, he explains. While the Ranger DX800 and Ranger DX900i surface top hammer drill rigs serve mainly the construction and small mining sectors, the Pantera DP1500i surface top-hammer drill rig is a ‘cross over’ for applications in quarries and into the smaller opencast mines.

“We have found that the Ranger DX900i and the Pantera DP1500i are versatile machines that we can deploy across more than one space,” says Brauteseth. “We can therefore use them in our construction projects as well as in quarrying, and even in some mining operations.”

Recipe for success

With a background in opencast mining, Brauteseth was able to successfully leverage the company’s initial focus on civil engineering work over the years. He sees an important ingredient for success in ‘sticking to its knitting’ in the field of drilling and blasting.

“What we prioritise is good people who are fairly rewarded, and good equipment,” he says. “The result is that we have a team that has been with us since day one, and more than a few have between 25 to 30 years of service.”

Brauteseth Blasting trains and upskills staff continuously to develop its skills base and capabilities, while spending as much time as possible with customers to identify and satisfy their precise needs. This approach also includes firm links with suppliers, Brauteseth points out.

“In the beginning, we had a variety of drill rigs but have built a strong relationship with Sandvik over almost 20 years,” he says. “We have some of the best equipment in the market, and keep it well maintained and up-to-date. This means continual investment in replacing plant regularly.”

This operating model gives the company the performance, reliability and uptime that its projects demand, backed up by the experience and skills of a stable and committed staff complement. The ongoing upskilling also ensures the latest technology investments are put to the most productive use in the field – to deliver the bottom-line results that keep customers loyal.

Step ahead

“When there is new equipment in the market, we are always interested in what it can do for our fleet capability and our customers,” says Brauteseth. “We embrace new technology and this ensures we stay a step ahead in our market.”

He believes that, from his almost two decades of running Sandvik drills, that Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions have always had the edge in this space. The first of these units that he purchased, for instance, were the only ones available with a turntable that could slew.

“This was a great innovation at the time that helped us considerably in our construction sector work, getting into tight spaces and being able to safely spread the weight of the machine,” he explains. “The Sandvik Ranger DX900i brought even further improvements in slew angles.”

Continuous improvement within model ranges is also a significant benefit, such as the evolution of the Pantera DP1500 to the intelligent Pantera DP1500i model. He appreciates the reliability levels and how the CAN Bus system allows easier troubleshooting, for example. Similarly, he highlights the innovation in the Leopard DI550 and Leopard DI650i where less fuel is used through decoupling the compressor when the machines idle.

“The fuel saving resulting from this development is significant, and can be passed on to our customers,” he says. “Now we are moving into the field of intelligent machines which can drill without an operator, and a few of our machines are in principle ready to do this with the necessary upgrades. We really value Sandvik’s continuous innovation, and the way they listen to customers when pursuing those developments.”

Safety

He also highlights the dust control features on Sandvik drill rigs, as this is critical for health and safety compliance on mining sites. Whether this is through water injection or dust plants, he argues that Sandvik’s dust control is among the best he has encountered. For night work, the machines’ own lighting equipment allows safe work without the need for a separate lighting plant.

“Our operators appreciate the quiet cabs on the drills, which make the working conditions more comfortable and supports their productivity,” adds Brauteseth.

There are currently almost 30 boom drills operating in the Brauteseth Blasting fleet, weighted towards the Leopard DI550 and Leopard DI650i range.

“In the early days, we were very aggressive in our replacement policy, moving machines on at around 6 500 hours,” he says. “We have since improved our business model by reliably running these for up to as much as 12 000 hours, with the correct preventative maintenance programmes in place.”

In the case where component replacement is necessary, the company has well equipped workshops to conduct this work in-house. Brauteseth emphasises that a strong maintenance and support team – many of them trained by Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions – is vital for any business in this field. Understanding the need to ensure continuity here, the company has been training its own apprentices for the past decade. Drifter servicing is also done in-house. If warranty conditions call for Sandvik technicians, attendance for this is then arranged.

“This is one of the aspects that makes the Brauteseth-Sandvik partnership so unique,” says Blom. “Even with Brauteseth being so self-sufficient – both operationally and technically – we can support the company as the OEM in whichever way is required.”

As Brauteseth Blasting continues its growth path, Brauteseth expects even more drill rig acquisitions in 2023 – signalling a bright future for the business and its close collaboration with Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.