Shaft sinking · Raise boring · Tunnelling · Since 2008
We deliver quality mines through safe, quality work
Shaft sinking, box cuts and declines, tunnelling, shaft rehabilitation and mining-steel manufacturing under single-point responsibility — for gold, diamond, coal and platinum mines in South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Mali and beyond.
ShaftCon Holdings
Fourth-generation shaft sinkers, one point of responsibility
Founded in 2008 by fourth-generation shaft sinker Wynand Lourens, ShaftCon sinks, equips and rehabilitates shafts, develops tunnels and declines, and manufactures the steel and machinery that go into them. Our head office and plant yard are in Beestekraal, North West, and our engineering workshop is in Roodepoort, Gauteng.
Because we cover the whole job — from box cut and pre-sink to lining, equipping, winders and commissioning — a client deals with one contractor on a multidisciplinary project, and the interface risk between trades stays with us, not with the mine.
Services
What we do
Specialist teams for each part of the work, under one contract.
Box cuts and twin declines for new mines, as at Horizon chrome mine.
Making safe, new support and new internal steel in vertical and decline shafts.
Vent shafts, second escape ways, drain holes and paste holes, through ShaftCon Raise Boring.
Sinking, support and lining of ventilation and hydro power shafts.
Drill rigs, sinking stages, winches, ladders and shaft steel from our own workshop.
Project management, cost engineering and mineral resource services.
Safety record
No lost-time injuries on our Mali and Tanzania projects
Recorded by our crews at Loulo in Mali since April 2023, and at North Mara in Tanzania since April 2025:
0
Lost-time injuries
389,724
LTI-free hours, Loulo (Mali)
61,212
LTI-free hours, North Mara (Tanzania)
Source: ShaftCon safety statistics, to October 2026. No reportable injuries or fatalities on either project in that period.
Why ShaftCon
Why mines choose ShaftCon
Comprehensive capabilities
Mining, shaft sinking, secondary support, manufacturing and infrastructure development, with specialists dedicated to each part of the business.
Single-point responsibility
One contractor across a multidisciplinary project, which removes the interface risk from the client’s side.
Commitment to safety
Hazard-identification training, safe work practices and a workforce empowered to stop and fix a risk.
Proven track record
An OHS award at Cullinan Diamond Mine and Contractor of the Month at Xstrata Horizon Mine.
Inclusive approach
Skills transfer and on-the-job training, so local teams grow with every project.
Projects
Recent and landmark projects
From Barrick’s operations in Mali and Tanzania to the Gautrain and a hydro tunnel in Brazil.
South Africa · Declines
Xstrata, Horizon chrome mine, 2010.
South Africa · Steel
Bombela, 2012: internal shaft steel and head houses.
Locations
Where we work
ShaftCon entities in five countries.
ShaftCon Holdings (Pty) Ltd — head office, Beestekraal.
ShaftCon Investments CC.
ShaftCon Engineering Limited, Dar es Salaam.
ShaftCon Mali — Barrick Loulo Mine.
ShaftCon Holdings LLC.
The ShaftCon Group
Proudly ShaftCon companies
Mine design, raise boring, borer manufacture, trackless machine refurbishment and rock-drill rebuilds — inside the group.
Mine, construction and structural design and feasibility studies.
Raise boring and reverse cover drilling.
The Raise Mole range of raise, box-hole and slot borers.
Trackless mining machines built, refurbished and supplied.
Rock-drill spares, repair and rebuilds.
Planning a shaft, decline or tunnel?
Tell us about the project. We reply from our Beestekraal head office, and we can put you in touch with our teams in Namibia, Tanzania, Mali and the USA.