ON SITE
F
or a junior mining company to
start up a quarry in South Africa,
and then operate it profitably
is a gargantuan task to say the least.
Financially, acquiring capital equipment
is arguably the biggest hurdle.
Large multinational Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
do offer financial incentives to assist
first-time miners, but the costs remain
exorbitant. But true entrepreneurs
never let a challenge get them down.
African Spirit Trading’s (AST) Van
Dykspruit quarry, near Cullinan in
the Gauteng province, acquired their
yellow metal on a shoestring budget,
gave it a facelift and with a stringent
maintenance regime and experienced
mechanics, continues operating their
pit profitably.
On first instinct, one would expect
such an operation to rely on rusted,
worn-out and run-down equipment, but
contrary to these ingrained perceptions,
AST’s mining fleet is in top nick, and
has kept the quarry ticking over for
the past four years. But, according to
Oliver Blackmore, general manager at
Van Dykspruit, it requires meticulous
planning and nerves of steel.
www.equipmentandhire.co.za
Servicing in-house
Blackmore tells Plant Equipment and
Hire during a recent site visit, that
the mine acquired all their equipment
without signing a single service
agreement with any OEM or agent,
and therefore has to service the entire
fleet in-house. “Agencies who sell
used equipment often only fix the body
cosmetically and then seek premium
prices for the equipment. When we
initially bought our fleet, we identified
machines with mechanically sound
engines and low hours on the clock,
instead of looking at the bodywork.
Our Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) was
rusted and looked terrible from the
outside, but it had a fantastic engine,”
says Blackmore.
He says the company used websites
like Gumtree to search for used
equiment rather than approaching
OEMs and agencies. “We kept our ears
close to the ground and used word
of mouth to source used equipment
from known brands,” he says.
Blackmore admits that approaching
OEMs directly does ensure excellent
service agreements, but these come
OCTOBER 2019
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