Steel on the Frontier: B&T Steel Construction and the Lumwana Super Pit Expansion

At B&T Steel Construction, every project we take on carries a simple standard: deliver on time, and without compromise. Nowhere has that standard been tested and met more consistently than at Barrick Gold Corporation’s Lumwana Copper Mine in Zambia’s North-Western Province, where we have been a trusted fabrication and construction partner since 2023, before the new expansion phase began.

The Lumwana Super Pit expansion is a $2-billion programme to transform the mine into a world-class, long-life copper producer, one of the most significant copper mining projects on the African continent. To date, we have delivered 17 structures to the project, including a flagship 63-tonne workshop, all as part of the mine’s Non-Processing Infrastructure (NPI) programme.

What We Delivered

Our scope has included the design, fabrication, and supply of essential infrastructure to support mining operations and maintenance activities, including the main diesel workshop, multi-workshop, and service workshop.

These are not peripheral structures. NPI is the pressure valve for fleet availability at any major mine. When these facilities are built right, they keep production flowing. When they are treated as an afterthought, they become the bottleneck that throttles everything else.

Our custom designed wide-span portal frame designs address this directly. By eliminating internal columns, we create clear-span maintenance bays that give maintenance crews and heavy equipment the unobstructed space they need to work efficiently.

Built for Zambia’s Environment

The North-Western Province is a demanding environment for structural steel. High humidity, corrosive mining byproducts, and temperature variation all work against inadequately prepared steelwork. Our approach to surface preparation and protective coating ensures that what we build is engineered to last.

Logistics that Work for the Site

One of the less visible but most valuable things we bring to remote cross-border projects is logistics discipline. With Barrick managing their own transport for the Lumwana programme, our plan was to ensure every load arrived at site in precisely the right sequence for the erection schedule.

Our sequencing model is straightforward but deliberate: columns and holding-down bolts go on the first load so site rigger teams can begin erection immediately. Roof rafters follow. Lipped channels and sheeting arrive last, so that by the time the final truck reaches site, the structure is already going up.

The result is that site teams are never standing idle waiting on steel. In a remote setting where labour mobilisation is expensive, that discipline translates directly into project savings and schedule certainty.

One Partner, Full Scope

What sets B&T Steel apart on projects like Lumwana is our ability to manage the complete scope under one roof. From structural design, detailing, and fabrication through to painting, and cross-border delivery coordination. Clients deal with a single accountable partner at every stage which reduces interface risk, simplifies communication, and keeps the project moving.

It’s an approach that has made us a trusted name for Tier-1 mining developers across the SADC region.

A Relationship Built on Results

“The potential of the Lumwana expansion is rooted in its infrastructure,” says Bryan Wilken, Director at B&T Steel. “Precision fabrication and logistical planning prevent the costly delays that plague remote greenfield projects.”

Three years of continuous, reliable delivery to one of Africa’s most demanding active mine sites. That track record is the best measure of what we bring to a project.

If you are planning infrastructure for a mining, industrial, or resources project in South Africa or across the SADC region, we’d welcome the conversation.