MTE EXHIBITIONS •
Commenting on MTE ’ s recent milestone , Andrew Macnamara , MTE operations director said , “ The numbers of professionals reached and the numbers of experts showcasing their products and services to the PGMs operations in the area have almost doubled in a year . This bares testament to the growth and development in this commodity sector in South Africa currently , with its importance in the energy transition driving global demand , and the country ’ s critical role in supplying this demand .”
Roger Baxter , outgoing CEO of the Minerals Council SA , summed ‘ the unlocking of South Africa ’ s long-term PGM potential ’ up at the annual PGM ’ s Industry Day on 6 April too saying , “ The focus is to realise the world ’ s largest PGM resource [ located in South Africa ] through developing markets , that enable the growth of the PGM mining sector . This would add about R8-trillion to South Africa ’ s economy by 2050 , and around another 1 million direct and indirect jobs .’’ 3
© Andrew Macnamara , Mining and Technical Exhibitions
On 24 May MTE hosted its famous annual Emalahleni ( Witbank ) Expo speaking to 355 mining and power industry players through 88 suppliers .
energy , saying that there is no doubt that the commodity is still relevant for South Africa – and the world .
Source Johnson Matthey
South Africa is the key source of PGMs .
He pointed out that on the global front : coal has been the largest single source of the global energy supply blanket over the past 30 years ( 40 % – 50 %). Even as the world decarbonises , coal is still expected to play a major role – especially in developing nations ; a large proportion of energy demand will also remain underdressed as many parts of the developing world , particularly in Africa , remain without stable and affordable electricity . 4
Teke noted then that the coal mining industry provides ~ 93 000 direct and a further ~ 107 000 indirect jobs ( including power stations ); coal is the third largest single employer by commodity in the South African mining sector and one of the largest employing sectors in the country ; ~ 2 % of the South African population are directly reliant on coal mining in host communities ; mining ( mainly coal ) directly contributes more than 25 % to the Mpumalanga province ’ s economy / GDP . 5
DMRE and Minerals Council SA
A snapshot of South Africa ’ s PGM mining industry .
On the coal front MTE also dug deep in Mpumalanga with its Emalahleni ( Witbank ) expo which delivered on the 24 May to the coal and power sector , speaking to 355 visitors through 88 suppliers .
Visiting the expo were teams from Thungela and Seriti – big mining players in the Mpumalanga area . Coal is the lifeline of this province and ~ 80 % of all coal in SA is produced here . This is the reason MTE targets this area for this major commodity annually .
Steve Teke , CEO of Seriti , made it clear at the Joburg Indaba in October last year that coal is still expected to play a major role in South Africa ’ s energy mix during the transition period to greener
Richards Bay Industrial Expo and Phalaborwa June saw MTE dock in Richards Bay where its ability to create expos tailored to the specific needs of operations in the area is showcased annually , with this target market including the mining industry and smelters ; the agricultural sector and sugar milling in Empangeni in particular ; the Richards Bay harbour and coal terminal ( the largest coal export facility in Africa ); and the paper and pulp sector . 6
MTE moved to Phalaborwa on 22 June in Limpopo , which is home to numerous open pit and underground mines , and again – MTE customised its travelling exhibition to cater to the iron , copper and phosphate ore needs of the area .
Iron-ore and manganese in the Northern Cape Next up , this month , will be the Beeshoek , Hotazel and Kathu combo shows – an impact-filled experience for suppliers to the booming iron-ore and manganese operations . These combo shows prove to be particularly cost effective to suppliers as these areas are located a great distance from the Johannesburg hub , where many of their headquarters are stationed . Macnamara noted that this year Beeshoek was added to the combo to cater to the growth in the area and the requirements of the operations there , who are very
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