Cementation Canada.

• Author: Stradiotto, Laura
• Position: Mining Companies to Watch - Profile - Company overview

With the goal to improve project delivery from underground construction to mineral handling and processing to shipment, Cementation Group continues to expand its service offering to encompass a larger scope of the mining cycle.

"When we started the company in 1998, we wanted to be a design and build contractor, which is unique in this industry, because it's what other contractors wanted to get away from," said Roy Slack, president of the North Bay-headquartered company.

"We really felt like it was the best way to do major projects."

Early involvement, such as providing concept studies, prefeasibility and feasibility engineering, enables Cementation to work with clients in ensuring projects are on schedule and under budget.

When Cementation was reintroduced to the North American mining sector almost 20 years ago, underground mine contracting and engineering were core deliverables. As the company strengthened its expertise, it focused on its vision: to expand services and move into other elements of mine building.

"We've always wanted to be involved early in the cycle," said Slack. "There's a lot of benefit to design-build and to have the contractor involved early in the project. We feel it's best for the project. A design-build approach establishes accountability.

"There's constructability built into the design and there's the current experience in costing and scheduling of real projects that comes to every project lead. Expanding that to surface work in terms of construction management and plant design construction was a logical step for us."

To accomplish this, Slack said, "We needed to be sure we had the right people."

So the company established Cementation AG (Above Ground), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, a specialist design-build EPC-style contractor working in the minerals handling space, providing surface material handling and processing services on a "pit-to-port" scope.

In December 2015 Cementation purchased Merit Consultants International, a provider of project and construction management services to clients in the international mining community.

"More and more our offering is global," said Slack, "and the integration of Merit and Cementation AG strengthens our capabilities as a as a true international operator below and above-ground. We are really expanding the service offering we provide our clients."

Slack said there was also demand for formal project management services for larger projects. Cementation always offered these...