Company Profile

New Concept Mining (Pty) Limited was founded in 1989 by Paul McKelvey, a Mechanical Engineer with a degree from Wits University and an MSc. from the University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology. During his many years of experience in the mining industry, Paul identified many opportunities for improvement, which spurred him to start his own business to meet the mines’ unique needs.

Early success came with the introduction of a range of mono-rope equipment that effectively eliminated finger amputations that were commonplace at the time. New Concept Mining became the market leader in the field and supplied all the major Gold and Platinum mines throughout Southern Africa.

From the outset the company’s aim was to provide innovative, quality products to improve safety and productivity in the narrow reef mining industry. During its existence NCM has won Cullinan, Design Institute of South Africa (DISA) and South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) design awards and filed well over 100 patents.

From 1994 the company has been involved in stope support products. Various types of temporary and permanent mine support were developed and launched before the Jackpot range of hydraulic pre-stress devices was launched in September 1997 at the SARES conference. NCM has established itself as the market leader in this field and has focused its efforts on hydraulic pre-stressing devices and associated technology, ceasing production of temporary props, mono-rope equipment and disposing of various other non-core businesses. Continuous re-investment in the business has been made over the years to optimise quality, capacity, service and costs thus providing our customers peace of mind in the critical area of mine support.

Jackpots have been approved by DSK for use in German mines; they are also exported to North and South America, Australia, Fiji, Canada, and the UK. Safety and productivity are at the heart of the universal acceptance of pre-stressing by the mining industry.

Since 1997, economies of scale, value engineering and improvements have resulted in the price of Jackpots decreasing by 20% whilst steel prices have increased by over 100%. New Concept Mining’s willingness to operate at low margins has caused most of our competitors to exit the market.

During 2004 New Concept Mining introduced the Hydrabolt range of expandable roof bolts, which has resulted in significant changes in mining in South Africa, again offering unparalleled improvements in mining productivity and safety.

The current products range is as follows:
The Jackpot range of pre-stress units (140 NT JP / 160 NT JP / 175 NT JP / 190 NT JP / 220 NT JP / 260 NT JP); The Jackpot range of accessories (Air Pump, Hand Pump, Standard and Relief Nozzle, Safety Pistol, Hoses, Hose Protector, UGI-gauge); Jackpot with Pressure Relief Valve; The Hydrabolt and X-Pandabolt range of expandable roof bolts, ranging in length from 0.9m to 3.0m; High Pressure Air Pump, Nozzles and Safety Pistols to support the Hydrabolt and X-Pandabolt; The PSU Headboard range; The Universal Headboard range; Jackpack range of pre-stressing standard plates; the Jackpack range of pre-stressing relief valve plates.

New Concept Mining is internationally accredited to ISO 9001:2008. Through stringent application of quality controls and process improvements the current operational failure rate of our products is constantly improving and meets the most demanding standards.

A highly experienced team of Service Managers and Underground Instructors provides underground training and trouble-shooting. Over 250 written reports are submitted each month regarding the installation of our products.

In an independent market survey, 70% of the respondents nominated New Concept Mining as the best mining supply Company in South Africa. Customer's service and support has always been paramount at NCM. The service team has a combined total of over 200 years of narrow reef stoping experience and provides a vital link between new product development, factory and customer. Many of the products now in use underground were developed through this close cooperation between mine production personnel and the company.

New Concept Mining has a team of Mechanical and Mining Engineers working on various research and development projects. These projects are focused around innovative mining support solutions. An example of our capability is the Hydrabolt – hydraulic roof bolting system, the Jackpot with internal PRV (pressure relief valve) which provides accurate hydraulic yield, a combination nozzle for correctly inflating both Jackpots and Hydrabolts from the same high pressure Air Pump, the RS Hydrabolt for use in stopes where the fall-out thickness to be supported is greater than the stoping width. They are also heavily involved in many unseen product and process improvements e.g. improvements in Air Pump longevity and reliability.

Our head office is situated in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the majority of our manufacturing takes place. We have a secondary manufacturing and support facility in Rustenburg.

We own and operate an extensive range of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, much of which is designed to our specific requirements.

Technical advice and service to the local market for these products is available to mining customers throughout South Africa via branches in Carletonville (covering the Carletonville, Klerksdorp and Welkom Gold Mining areas), Rustenburg and the Eastern Limb (covering the Platinum Mines).

The export market is supported throughout South America through a subsidiary in Peru, the Australasian continent via an Agency based in Australia, while continental Europe and North America are supported by Heintzman.

We supply our products directly to all the major groups in South Africa, or indirectly via timber supply companies, mine support companies or contract miners. Although we offer extensive underground support, the mines are responsible for the correct installation and use of our products.

The Managing Director since 2001 is Philip Maxton, a Mechanical Engineering graduate who, after working in the mining industry for many years, obtained an MBA from the University of Cape Town.