AFRICAN BUZZ • through the Mandela Mining Precinct ’ s South African Minerals , Extraction , Research , Development and Innovation ( SAMERDI ) initiative , a partnership between the South African government and the Minerals Council of South Africa .
The South African mining equipment industry is historically well respected for its innovation and technological advancement . While overall investment in mining R & D has declined , the conference and awards demonstrated that the South African supply chain possesses remarkable resilience , and the ability to innovate and solve problems despite resource constraints . Innovation by emerging and small enterprises was particularly notable in this round of awards .
Lehlohonolo Molloyi , CEO MEMSA , opening the 2023 Mind Shift Conference , incorporating the Innovation for Mining & Manufacturing Excellence Awards .
Manufacturing 4.0 and digital technologies Day one centred on Manufacturing 4.0 and the effective integration of digital technologies in manufacturing and customer service applications . While South African manufacturers are generally in the early phases of this journey , speakers and award winners demonstrated that strategic use of new technologies available to them can hold tremendous productivity and competitiveness benefits , and that expertise to support decision making , implementation and skills development is available to South African companies . The reality of the skills shortages , however , must be tackled collectively and was mentioned by several speakers and panelists . Speakers included Dr Nimrod Zalk acting DDG Industrial Competitiveness dtic ; Johan du Toit of Syspro ; Tapiwa Samanga CEO of Production Tooling Association of SA ( PtSA ); Gideon Potgieter CEO of Resolution Circle , Tebogo Mahluli at NextGenOpX , and Dr Ajith Gopal of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research ( CSIR ).
The Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2023 sponsored by Syspro recognised successful application of digital technologies in manufacturing and customer service and were open to any company engaged in manufacturing for mining . The independently judged awards were given in the following categories , for :
• Digitised Services - NTGR Engineering Products , an SME company for demonstrating improved and transformed customer services through digital technologies .
• Manufacturing 4.0 - African Mixing Technologies ( Afromix ) for commissioning digitised equipment and robotics in their manufacturing process , leading to improved quality , productivity and business expansion .
• Future Skills Development - Bell Equipment Company for developing 4IR-related skills and initiatives to offer manufacturing competitiveness for the mining sector .
• People-Centred Growth - Buraaq Mining Services for creating quality employment and learning opportunities as they incorporate digital technologies in their product design .
• Bell Equipment Company were further recognised once again as Manufacturer of the Year for consistent excellence across all categories .
Winners emphasised that new technologies should be employed where called for by business strategy , and the upskilling of staff to embrace digital tools and methods were enablers of business growth and keys to success .
Bokang Kelepa of Baletsema Mining led a discussion on ' Making the most of digital in South African manufacturing , with Philippa Rodseth of the Manufacturing Circle ; Dr Ajith Gopal ; Dr Shaniel Dhavraj of UJ ; Steve Jardine of RSA Clusters , and Andrew Mbatha of Productivity SA on the panel .
Innovation for mining Day two of the conference focused on innovation for mining , and began with an inspiring speech by Dr Adam Pantanowitz , head of the Wits Centre for Innovation and an iconic biomedical and electrical entrepreneur . His themes of scarcity and necessity sparking innovation , and bravely exploring the art of the possible , spoke strongly to the South African audience and were echoed throughout the day .
JJ Verhaeghe , Real Time Information Management Systems ( RTIMS ) Programme Manager shared findings on the 10 Insights into 4IR , while Alex Fenn of Sibanye-Stillwater motivated
www . africanmining . co . za African Mining • September 2023 • 7
© Sharyn Macnamara , African Mining , incorporating Mining Mirror