SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPLIERS
In one of the most accurate pilot holes to be drilled on a South African mine , Murray & Roberts Cementation recently completed a 950 m borehole for a ventilation shaft at Ivanhoe Mines ’ Platreef project
Home advantage
For those companies educated in dealing with the South African business landscape , a strong value proposition remains , Dan Gleeson reports
There is an acceptance from within South Africa that the climate for doing business is less-than-ideal – volatile policymaking , unpredictable electricity generation and supply , considerable socio-economic demands made by local communities , an expanding transformation agenda that is hard to keep up with … the list goes on .
Even with these inhibitors , international companies continue to do business and invest in their domestic facilities , aware of the obvious mineral and metal wealth in the region and the preference towards sourcing supplies locally .
In-country benefits
Take Epiroc , for example .
In its most recent September quarter results , the company confirmed it was looking to consolidate several functions – transactional and human resources , among them – into new regional centres of excellence to better serve customers in certain markets as part of its wider operational excellence pursuit .
One such change is happening in South Africa , with the company moving production of its lowprofile machines from Örebro , Sweden , to just outside of Johannesburg .
This move followed the acquisition of Aard Mining Equipment in April , and recognition of a substantial portion of the low-profile market being located in southern Africa , Helena Hedblom , President and CEO , told IM recently .
Aard designs , manufactures , services and supports a wide range of mining equipment , specialising in low-profile underground machines for mines with low mining heights . Its products include drill rigs , bolters , loaders , scalers and more .
Similarly , Komatsu ’ s pending acquisition of GHH Group , which has South Africa manufacturing facilities and a strong low-profile market share to go with it , is expecting to make the most of this exposure .
Peter Salditt , President and CEO , Komatsu Mining Corp , said when the deal was announced : “ We are very excited about this acquisition as it represents a great opportunity for Komatsu to expand its offerings for underground mining equipment and accelerate new product development through synergies with Komatsu ’ s existing team and product offerings .
“ By adding GHH ’ s factories and rebuild facilities in key markets in Europe , South Africa , India and Chile , we also aim to strengthen production and service capabilities for our customers .”
Bell Equipment is also strengthening its South Africa base with plans to leverage almost 70
years of demonstrated expertise in complex engineering , heavy fabrication and machining for its own range of material handling equipment in a newly formed division called Bell Heavy Industries ( BHI ).
Bell Equipment ’ s Group Business Development Director , Stephen Jones , said : “ South Africa has seen a huge reduction in engineering companies , and , in response , we have strategically positioned our South African manufacturing facility to fill this void by providing project engineering and contract manufacturing through BHI .
“ The growth of Bell as a well-established mining , earthmoving and agriculture equipment manufacturer , both domestically and in terms of exports around the world , is a testament to the skills available and the quality of products that we make in Richards Bay . We ’ re confident in our ability to expand into other industries and believe this will benefit not only the manufacturing sector but the whole country .”
Similarly , Multotec has expanded its facilities and the capacity of its mill lining factory in Spartan , South Africa , to meet rising demand , enabling the company to manufacture larger mill liners for clients around the globe .
The expansion consists of the installation of three new presses at the factory that will boost manufacturing capacity by 15-20 % to meet this demand . The new presses enable Multotec to manufacture larger mill liners that are between 10 m and 15 m in diameter , whereas previously the company focused on 3 m to 7 m diameter mill liners .
Still in Spartan , Sandvik Rock Processing recently marked a significant step in its
22 International Mining | JANUARY 2024