ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE ONLINE INCLUDING
perseus mining:
MONTHLY EDITION August 2013
boskalis offshore: devex: Cisco:
Tomorrow starts here The name Cisco has been associated with innovation since its foundation
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC’S ENERGY UNIVERSITY™ INTRODUCES ONLINE Professional Energy Manager Certification Certification program developed in conjunction with Institute of Energy Professionals provides highlysought skills in energy management Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, announced the launch of the online Professional Energy Manager (PEM)™ certification for its popular online, vendorneutral Energy University™ program. This exclusive program, developed with the acclaimed Institute of Energy Professionals (IEP), the longest running energy education program in the U.S., gives energy-focused individuals worldwide an exciting new option for earning a highly marketable and respected credential in the growing field of energy management. As the energy management field continues to grow, organizations seeking talented professionals to drive and manage energy management programs are increasingly requiring training and certification in this new field. The Professional Energy Manager certification program provides individuals with the training required to be successful in this field – and proof of their capabilities. Energy University’s PEM online certification comes with conveniences often not available in traditional classroom environments, such as flexible class schedules, free tuition, and a self-paced curriculum that can reduce program learning length. As an added convenience, professionals may complete and purchase the PEM certification exam
online through Energy University. Energy University prepares students for the exam via a proprietary learning path comprised of free, selfpaced, on-demand courses available in 12 languages. The topics covered include: identifying efficiency opportunities; prioritizing opportunities through qualification data; and assembling the resources needed to define, sell, and implement an efficiency solution. Since its introduction in 2009, Energy University has provided industry-leading, vendor-neutral energy efficiency education to more than 130,000 professionals worldwide. The program offers more than 150 courses. The new PEM certification program represents another Energy University opportunity through which efficiency-minded individuals can become their companies’ energy champions. For more information and a complete list of certification classes, please visit www.MyEnergyUniversity.com
Included The BE Mining Directory showcases leading mining organisations from across the world, ranging from big corporations to junior mines and their supply chains. Be seen throughout our portfolio of magazines: • BE Mining Directory • BE Mining • BE Weekly • BE Monthly •
Go to page 272 to see this month’s listing To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com
business excellence
Business ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE ONLINE INCLUDING
John O’Hanlon Editor johanlon@bus-ex.com
perseus mining:
MONTHLY EDITION August 2013
boskalis offshore: devex: CIsCo:
Tomorrow starts here The name Cisco has been associated with innovation since its foundation
Will Daynes Editor wdaynes@bus-ex.com Matt Johnson Art Director mjohnson@bus-ex.com Louise Culling Production Designer lculling@bus-ex.com Richard Turner Director of Sales rturner@bus-ex.com Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com
Business Excellence brings you content from leading business influencers and strategic thinkers providing inspiration and guidance to help you and your business grow. We showcase some of the best examples of successful organisations from around the world giving you a unique insight into how they operate.
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Contributors George F. Brown, Jr. Consultant & Author
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Kevin J. Duggan Entrepreneur Alan Denton MD of The Results Centre Gary Kunath Founder of The Summit Group
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BE Weekly
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features
12 20
12 top ten
The world’s top ten banks Based on recent industry research it is clear that the global shift in banking power has spread to the Far East. Here we explore the ten biggest banks in the world based on Tier 1 capital (common stock and disclosed resources) in $m.
24
20 executive insight
Randy Findlay
Randy Findlay, Sentinel Project Manager, discusses his involvement with the Trident project’s flagship Sentinel mine development.
24 leadership
The mistakes that leaders make during a recession The strategies business leaders adopt during recessionary times.
6 | BE Monthly
contents
30 strategy
Does Your Firm Have One Hand Tied Behind its Back?
30
Partnership with third-party suppliers works best when they are really brought into the team.
36 operations
Operational Excellence in Human Resources
Employees are invariably a company’s greatest asset, but what can you do to ensure your HR process creates the best results?
36
44 people
Elevating Loyalty, Productivity and Innovation in your Workforce Treat your organization’s most valuable resource with care, says former Businessman of the Year.
industry Focus:
52
48 DECOM North Sea
The seas of change
DECOM North Sea is working to help drive forward an industry sector estimated to be worth in excess of £35 billion over 30 years.
52 Boskalis Offshore A century of service
Boskalis Offshore is the driving force behind the offshore energy activities of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV.
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business showcases
60
oil & gas: 60 NGC Trinidad
Growing gas – a two-way flow
Speaking to company president Mr Indar Maharaj, we discover how the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) looks to fulfil a new mandate to extend its influence internationally.
70 South African Oil & Gas Alliance
Changing the South African energy game
These are exciting times for anyone involved in energy businesses in Africa’s largest economy: on the brink of world class oil and gas discoveries South Africa is ready to join the global top table, with a major role to be played by the South African Oil & Gas Alliance (SAOGA).
telecoms: 82 Cisco Malta
Tomorrow starts here
82 94
The name Cisco has been associated with innovation since its foundation in 1984: its Malta operations are an epitome of its global significance as the industry enters its next evolutionary phase.
94 NTT Communications
Delivering seamless service
NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, discusses the growing importance of Thailand to the South East Asian region and how the internet and other telecoms services are becoming ever more critical to people’s lives.
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mining & Minerals: 106 perseus mining Born to seek gold
Perseus Mining continues to focus on under-explored gold assets in West Africa, a region it really understands.
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134 Endeavour Mining
A gold producer delivering growth
Endeavour Mining has a growing portfolio of gold assets in West Africa, with three producing mines, a fourth nearing completion and promising development projects.
144 Mwana Africa
Daring to discover the DRC
Mwana Africa hopes to establish its major zinc assets onto the global map.
134
166
154 AngloGold Ashanti
Vision committed to excellence
AngloGold Ashanti looks forward to the contribution of at least two major new assets due to come on stream in the latter part of 2013.
166 BIA
Architects of African growth
BIA’s operations in Africa and its contribution to the development of the continent.
174 continental coal African energy for Asia
Continental Coal is a company whose second name could be ‘expansion’: with three operating mines and another in development this year, growth is a key part of its policy.
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business showcases
182 Devex
Introducing tomorrow’s smart mine
Devex has rethought mine automation, taking it beyond the traditional fleet management mindset.
192 ACCL International
Roads less travelled
It is risky and sometimes scary to get involved in post-conflict economies.
182
202 IMA engineering
Cutting edge technology
214
IMA’s products and services can make the difference between profit and loss.
214 Grindex
THE ART OF STAYING DRY
One of the strongest brands in the world for dewatering pumps, Grindex is an important partner for mining, construction and infrastructure.
transport & logistics: 222 Panama Canal Expansion Program
222
A global game changer
The expansion of the Panama Canal is on course to change the world of maritime trade forever.
232 Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) Supporting Southern Africa
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) is playing a leading role in making the South African government’s export-led growth strategy a success.
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contents
242
manufacturing: 242 Beier Envirotec
The technical textiles of choice
The growth of Beier Envirotec and the company’s plans for future development, both in South Africa and further afield.
252 Coresa
It’s in the bag
262
Managing director Jose Ignacio Arrate talks about Coresa’s range of plastic packaging solutions, and the company’s opportunities for expansion in South America.
energy: 262 KenGen
Generating growth
KenGen is taking its role as the country’s leading electricity supplier extremely seriously by developing new long-term power solutions.
BE Directory: 270 Amalgamated Dress
MANUFACTURING WORKWEAR & PPE FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
272 LEONARD LIGHT INDUSTRIES
Proudly serving the PRECIOUS METAL Assaying, Smelting and Refining Industries since 1959
274
274 spencer ogden MINING recruiting
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Based on recent industry research it is clear that the global shift in banking power has spread to the Far East. Here we explore the ten biggest banks in the world based on Tier 1 capital (common stock and disclosed resources) in $m Words by: Will Daynes 12 | BE Monthly
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Top Ten
10 Agricultural Bank of China $111,493 million
Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Beijing, Agricultural Bank of China Limited (ABC or AgBank as it is also often referred to) is another of China’s financial institutions to have spread its reach across the world. The bank’s 444,000-odd employees can be found operating in branches throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore. In 2010 the bank became the last of China’s ‘big four’ to go public, fetching what was then the world’s biggest ever initial public offering (IPO).
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9 Bank of China (BOC) $121,504 million
Bank of China (BOC) first took its name in 1912, replacing the Government Bank of Imperial China in the same year that the Republic of China was formally established. One of China’s four state-owned commercial banks, BOC is the oldest bank in the country still in existence. Initially functioning as the Chinese central bank it became a purely commercial enterprise in 1928. BOC is undoubtedly the most international of China’s banks, with branches established on every inhabited continent.
banks
8 Wells Fargo & Co $126,607 million
While the Wells Fargo name can be traced all the way back to when Henry Wells and William G. Fargo established the business to provide express and banking services to California, the Wells Fargo & Co that exists today came about as a result of a merger between the original company and Norwest Corporation in 1998. The fourth largest bank in the US by assets and the largest by market capitalisation, Wells Fargo’s operations in 2013 expand across the globe with its 270,000 employees providing services to more than 70 million customers.
7 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group £129,576 million
It was the merger of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG), formally Japan’s second largest banking conglomerate, and Osaka-based UFJ Holdings on 1 October 2005 that marked the formation of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). Headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, the company is today Japan’s largest financial group and the world’s second largest bank holding company holding around $1.7 trillion in deposits. BE Monthly
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Top Ten
5 China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) £137,600 million
6 Citigroup
$136,532 million Headquartered in the financial heart of New York City, Citigroup was formed from one of the largest company mergers in history between the banking giant Citicorp and the financial conglomerate Travelers Group in 1998. With its largest shareholders including funds from the Middle East and Singapore, Citigroup operates the world’s largest financial services network, with around 16,000 offices in more than 140 countries. Today the corporation holds over 200 million customer accounts.
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Originally known as the People’s Construction Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) was formed as a joint-stock commercial bank in September 2004. As of the end of 2011, CCB was the second largest bank in the world by market capitalisation and the thirteenth largest company on the planet. Its 13,639 branches and employee base of more than 329,000 have helped solidify CCB as one of the ‘big four’ banks operating in China. Further afield it maintains branches in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, and Sydney, and a wholly owned subsidiary in London.
banks
3 Bank of America $155,461 million
4 HSBC Holdings $151,048 million
Founded by Sir Thomas Sutherland in Hong Kong on 3 March 1865, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) founded HSBC Holdings in London in 1991. Today the organisation boasts around 7,200 offices in 85 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and approximately 89 million customers. According to Forbes, as of the end of 2012 was the sixth largest public company.
The Bank of America Corporation is the fifthlargest company in the United States, and the third largest non-oil company, by total revenue. Figures taken in August 2009 show that Bank of America at the time held a total of 12.2 percent of all bank deposits in the United States. Today it retains a retail banking footprint that covers approximately 80 percent of the US population and serves approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships at 5,600 banking centres and 16,200 automated teller machines (ATMs). BE Monthly
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Top Ten
2
JPMorgan Chase & Co $160,002 million
With a history that dates back over 200 years, JPMorgan Chase is one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States and the second largest bank in the world in terms of assets, which stand at $2.4 trillion. Its 260,000 employees operate in more than 60 countries throughout the world serving millions of customers, small businesses and a number of the world’s foremost corporate, institutional and government clients.
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banks
1 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) $160,646 million
Founded in January 1984, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) is the largest bank in the world by profit and market capitalisation. At the end of 2011 the bank had a total of 408,859 employees on its payroll providing financial services and products to 4.11 million corporate clients and 282 million individual customers through 16,648 outlets across China, 239 overseas subsidiaries and a global network of more than 1,669 correspondent banks. In 2013, it ranked number one on Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s biggest public companies, and number one in The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking, the first time ever for a Chinese bank.
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Executive Insight
Randy Findlay Randy Findlay, Sentinel Project Manager, discusses his involvement with the Trident project’s flagship Sentinel mine development, his proudest achievements and what others can learn from the success of Trident Words by
Will Daynes
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Career wise, how did you come to be a part of First Quantum Minerals? After ending a five year retention based contract with Fluor I had a keen desire to find a company that could offer a better place in which to achieve my long term goals. With three other offers on the table from Kazakmys, Newmont and Fluor, I was contacted by First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQML), upon which I began researching the FQM execution philosophy. What I found was that FQM was unique in that it managed the engineering, construction execution and commissioning phases, before then turning things over to its operations team. It was this that convinced me to join. These dynamics are extremely rare in this industry and what they do is allow me, as a Project Manager, to drive the entire process optimally. Who has been your inspiration professionally? There have been a number of people, each for different reasons, but the two that stand out to me are Bob Ellis, Capital Vice President of Duke Energy and Martin Lacey, who is Vice President of Camaco Mining.
What do you consider to be your major achievement (in life or business)? That would be the development of a target approach towards contracting methodolog y. This incentiv ised approach to contracts puts the mine owner and contractors on the same side of the field, with time and costs acting as the opponent. When did you first become involved with the Trident project and what were your first impressions of its scope and aims? I consider myself the initial developer of the Sentinel project construction team execution plan. The key to this plan was the development of a strong schedule, team mentoring and development, providing competent job descriptions and site management behaviours in order to reduce construction time and costs. The overall goal was to develop Sentinel to add revenue stream to the company much earlier than was originally envisaged. The entire package with town development, housing and commercial areas, schools, banking, shops and power reticulation, meanwhile, is a key
“I consider myself the initial developer of the Sentinel project construction team execution plan. The key to this plan was the development of a strong schedule, team mentoring and development� 22 |
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Executive Insight
“Aside from pulling the construction schedule for completion ahead by three months we are also incredibly proud of reaching seven million man-hours without a lost time accident� deliverable to retain labour long term with minimal cost to operations and, most importantly, create a positive effect on the development of Zambia’s Northwestern region. What do you consider to be some of the bigger milestones reached on the project? Aside from pulling the construction schedule for completion ahead by three months we are also incredibly proud of reaching seven million man-hours without a lost time accident and, of course, developing a team that has proven to be able to provide excellent bench strength for projects. What lessons do you think other mine operators can learn from the Trident project? That schedule and resource development, with frequent, positive and purposeful interaction, provides the best foundation for project execution.
their careers and were part of a team that consistently worked together to achieve excellence. Which one piece of wisdom would you pass on to your successor? Always think about what else you can do to gain progress and maintain quality, treat people fairly and spend the time needed to develop and support your team.
What do you personally hope will be the long-lasting legacy of the project? I hope that people on the team feel they have accomplished the best project of
Coming soon: An in-depth look at First Quantum Minerals - Trident project.
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Leadership
The mistakes that leaders make during a recession The strategies business leaders adopt during recessionary times Words by
Alan Denton
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Leadership
W
e have a somewhat complex relationship with leadership in the UK. Whilst by nature we tend to be a largely compliant nation, rarely has public opinion of our constitutional leaders been lower - and criticism louder. Furthermore, resentment of the part played by financial leaders in the economic crisis has been exacerbated by media reports of the pay offs and bonuses handed to banking bosses. But, with the country still feeling the effects of a double dip recession, it is our business leaders who have the most promising opportunity to steer the country out of recession. It’s easy to blame those at the top when things go wrong – sometimes with good reason. Running a business, whether it’s a small family firm or a large multinational, is difficult when the economy is in recession. The temptation is to take the safest route – but this isn’t always conducive to survival or to growth. My experience as a business coach working with executives at a senior level, across a range of industries has shown that leaders, from owners and MDs through to department managers, have to take the ultimate responsibility for their company’s performance. Irrespective of the economic conditions and the industry that they operate in, some companies will fail whilst others thrive and flourish - and
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it is the quality of leadership that makes the difference. Defining a leader Peter Northouse (2007) defines leadership as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal”. Ask almost any person what makes a good leader and they are likely to speak of competencies and attributes such as communication, vision, motivation and charisma. However, in his book Good to Great, Jim Collins asserts that many of the most successful leaders do not start out with a vision of where they want to go - they start out with the right people on board in the organisation. So why does it go wrong for some leaders and what common mistakes have been made during the last 5-6 years of recession? Over management Unfortunately, my experience has shown that during recessionary times, poor leadership often takes the form of excessive management, rather than getting those ‘right’ people that Collins mentions into your organisation and allowing them the freedom to take up leadership responsibilities within their own roles. Ineffective leaders often spend too much time trying to manage and retain the staff they already have, failing to recruit and engage with new connections in key positions that could help them. However, that isn’t to say that management is unimportant. In fact, it’s entirely necessary, forming the pivotal basis of any business and is often the bedrock of good leadership (w it hout which chaos would
inevitably ensue). However, it should not be to the detriment hof effective leadership. Executives and managers are always under pressure to perform – and this is multiplied many times over during difficult economic times. However, despite the pressure to cut costs and get quick results, a good leader should continue to communicate their vision, expectations and timescales, giving people the space to do their job rather than suppressing performance by an over reliance on detail and managing down the organisation. Taking the short term view With this demand for instant results, it is tempting to take the short-term view and neglect the essential strategy of longterm growth, which is more commonly
“Many executives retreat to the safety of their ‘bunker’, metaphorically digging themselves a hole where they sit and wait out the tough stuff ” favoured during times of prosperity. The result is that many executives are panicked into drastic cost cutting measures, looking for ways to increase short-term gains. Whilst this is all very well, it needs to be balanced with protracted concerted and focused planning for the future growth of the business. Ultimately, a strategy which is determined by narrow and short-termist decisions will almost certainly affect businesses adversely over time. To counter this, we encourage companies and their leaders to explore all the possibilities and potential in their business – as rarely have we come across a business that has done so. – to really stretch themselves, their people and their ideas beyond what they see as possible at present. The results of this ‘stretch’ thinking can often be both unexpected and amazing! The bunker mentality Great leadership becomes even more crucial during times of economic hardship, yet many executives retreat to the safety of their ‘bunker’, metaphorically digging themselves a hole where they sit and wait out the tough stuff. Proactive leadership tends to go out of the window. The ‘loud’
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Leadership
ideas of vision, strategic investment and long-term planning is passed over in the cut and thrust of survival, with the ‘quiet’ elements of leadership - getting the right people and making things happen in an often unassuming way also lost in mêlée. The great businesses that we work with focus on survival – but with a defined strategy for the future and postrecessionary times. Again, key to this is recruiting and keeping the right people. Ask yourself, what are you doing to attract new talent? What action are you taking now to ensure engagement so that your best people don’t walk away once the recession lifts and more attractive alternatives present themselves? Looking inwards Coming out of your bunker involves looking at what other great organisations are doing. Whilst it’s important to look inwards, this must be balanced by studying what competitors, industry leaders in your sector and leaders in the wider business community are doing. What can you learn from what they are (or are not) doing? Seek out success stories; study their foundations of strategy and leadership as well as what their people are doing. Insularity can lead to an over reliance on cost reduction exercises to drive business practice instead of vision and investment. In fact, many of the organisations that we work with spend significant amounts of money on teams who look at the negative and reactionary i.e. ways of improving efficiency, costcutting and headcount reductions. Whilst
“Coming out of your bunker involves looking at what other great organisations are doing” this may be a necessary evil brought about by the impact of the recession, at the very least it must be counterbalanced by identifying opportunities for investment in risk focused, margin generating strategies. Summary Challenging times call for nerve, selfbelief and a willingness to take calculated risks. During a recession, leaders need to guard against the natural desire to play it safe and stay true to the vision and qualities that propelled them to the top in the first place. Excessive retrenchment and insularity will almost certainly have a negative (possibly fatal) impact on your business. The most successful leaders trust in their own abilities and those of the people around them, making enrolment, engagement and investment a central part of the goal of long-term growth.
About the author Alan Denton is MD of The Results Centre and regularly coaches newly appointed senior executives from a range of industries. Alan has created leadership and transformational programmes. He coaches and mentors at the highest levels in a variety of business scenarios, including international corporations. www.theresultscentre.com
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Does your firm tied behind
Partnership with third-p when they are really b Words by
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George
Strategy
m have one hand d its back?
party suppliers works best brought into the team
e F. Brown, Jr.
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S
everal years ago, a company that produced capital equipment initiated a firm-wide project designed to gain an advantage against competitors in a market that cared about both product quality and cost. The firm’s leadership put pressure on basically every department in the organization to come up with new ideas that could translate into marketplace success. Their efforts yielded some results, but the outcome fell far short of what had been hoped when the project had been started. What this firm failed to realize was that it had one hand tied behind its back. Third-party suppliers contributed on average just over 60% of the value of the firm’s products as they left the
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warehouse. Years of aggressive supply chain management had ensured that the firm was paying rock-bottom prices for the ingredients purchased from those suppliers. While such supply chain contributions are important and valuable, goals such as those established by this firm require much more than low prices in the way of contributions from suppliers. Today, many firms are in the same situation as the one described above, with a high share of their value added linked to ingredients purchased from suppliers. Executives must realize that suppliers can contribute far more than just lower prices and security of supply. Suppliers must bring innovations to the table. They must identify strategies that improve
Strategy
manufacturing and other processes. They must deliver ingredients and equipment that yield energy efficiency and environmental gains, and that address new regulatory challenges. In some instances, they must even contribute by easing the challenges of entering new global markets. And those examples are just a few drawn from the roster of contributions that I have observed strong suppliers making to their customers. Almost every company that I have interviewed over the years can cite a “supplier success story�, describing an instance in which a supplier truly made a contribution. But a far smaller fraction of those companies can cite what they are doing to motivate future supplier success
stories. They are, unfortunately, like the firm described above, operating with one hand tied behind their back. They are failing to establish their position as a preferred customer, one that attracts best-in-class suppliers and motivates their strongest contributions. Releasing the hand tied behind your back is not an easy process, particularly for firms that have managed their relationships with suppliers so as to promote competition with a singular focus on gaining price concessions. To tap the contributions that suppliers can make in other areas requires new approaches to key relationships and often a trustbuilding period to overcome suspicions. The mindset of being a best-in-class
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“I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” customer must become the foundation of the relationship with suppliers that are viewed as being in a position to make a strategic contribution. Not all suppliers are in that position, and a first step in the process involves identifying those suppliers that have the potential to make meaningful contributions. That potential depends on what they supply and also on the extent to which they have insights that can become critical to future growth and profitability. In my experience, the roster of such strategic suppliers is typically short. Two key tests that can help to identify strategic suppliers involve assessing how important their ingredient is in the eyes of your firm’s end customers and quantifying how many of your firm’s own
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processes and costs are linked in one way or another to the supplier’s product. For those suppliers that have the potential to make a strategic contribution, a different approach to managing the relationship is required. Many firms serving business markets have long ago implemented a strategic accounts team, with a dedicated account team focused on important customer relationships and a distinct cadence and focus to those large, highly important customer relationships. The same philosophy applies to strategic supplier relationships. As one example of the difference in how strategic supplier relationships are managed, a best-in-class customer will actively involve strategic suppliers in end customer relationships. The supplier’s ability to deliver value along many of the dimensions cited earlier depends on their understanding of what matters to the end customers. Many times, suppliers that have been involved in end customer relationship see analogies to challenges they’ve faced – and overcome – in support of other customers in other business environments. Ensuring that suppliers are aware of your firm’s end customer challenges is prerequisite to their ability to help you solve them. As a second example, in strategic supplier relationships, a “systems perspective” is required, with both firms being open to changes in the
Strategy
roles and boundaries between them and looking at how each of their decisions and processes impact on those of the partner firm. It’s a simple principle of optimization that when you focus on the whole system instead of its components in isolation, you have more options for improvement. This applies when suppliers and customers are confronting problems. Sometimes the solution requires a new way of doing things, shifting responsibilities from one firm to the other or making changes in processes in one firm that open the route to savings in the other. The gains from such collaborative efforts at problem solving can be substantial, and create a value pool that can be shared between the two companies. Finally, three themes occur repeatedly in discussions with suppliers about their best customers. The first of these involves the information flow and the communications between the two firms. Suppliers say that their best customers tell them what they need to know in order to be successful. The second observation is that suppliers feel their best customers accept them as part of the team, as opposed to keeping them at arm’s length. Such inclusion motivates suppliers to come to those customers with new ideas, even ones that are still “works
in process”. The third theme is that there is an openness to the relationship, with quite a few people involved across the various departments and functions in the two organizations. As a result of those multiple touch points, the people that have the potential to spot an opportunity already know one another and are easily able to connect with one another. Today’s business environment will continue to challenge most businesses and require them to undertake initiatives like the one described at the beginning of this article. The firms that are able to bring all of the resources available to bear on these challenges – including the resources that can be provided by strategic suppliers – will be those that prosper and reward their shareholders. Basketball superstar Michael Jordan once said “I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect halfhearted results.” Supplier insights and contributions are among the resources that must be tapped in order to avoid half-hearted results and one hand tied behind your back responses to business challenges. Identify those suppliers that can be a part of your firm’s success stories and implement the best customer practices that will enable them to do so. The payoff will be enormous.
About the author George F. Brown, Jr. consults with industrial firms on growth strategy. He is the coauthor of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs and the cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc. George has published frequently on topics relating to strategy in business markets, including articles in Industry Week, Industrial Distribution, Chief Executive, Business Excellence, Employment Relations Today, iP Frontline, Industrial Engineer, Industry Today, and many others.
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Operational excel Human Res
Employees are invariably a company’s can you do to ensure your HR process c Words by
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Kevin J. Duggan
Operations
llence in sources
greatest asset, but what creates the best results?
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O
perational Excellence is not a continuous improvement initiative, nor a lean program where we seek out waste and eliminate it. It is very tangible and real, and has practical definition that applies to everyone in the organization: Operational Excellence is when, “Every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down.” But Operational Excellence is not easy to achieve. It requires a designed, robust flow and a good deal of education on how that flow works, what normal flow is, and what abnormal flow is. In manufacturing, the application of Operational Excellence is easy to understand. We design how a product flows through the factory and then create strong visual indicators to tell each employee how the flow between processes works, where to get their work from, where to send their work, and most importantly, what to work on next. These visuals also communicate whether the flow is normal or abnormal. When the flow begins to become abnormal, the employees working in the flow take corrective steps to fix the problem before the flow breaks down. This makes the entire flow “self-healing”, meaning the flow can be fixed by the employees themselves, without the need for
“Every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down.” 38 |
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management intervention. But a typical office environment is different. Office employees are normally “shared resources”, meaning they must fulfill many different roles and responsibilities throughout the day. Unlike manufacturing, it is also unusual for office employees to repeat the same task over and over again. In Human Resources (HR), for example, HR professionals spend time on benefit packages, resolving employee disputes, hiring new employees, and much more. But Operational Excellence can still be achieved. Guaranteed response time: The key for hiring new employees For organizations that need to hire new employees to continue to grow and capture new opportunities in the marketplace, the charge largely rests with HR departments. And HR teams know that turnaround time to applicants is critical. However, due to the number of people and steps involved in the hiring process, response times to candidates can suffer, and the company can risk losing quality candidates. That’s because the need for hiring first has to be approved by other managers in the business and then reviewed by HR, which places an advertisement. Résumés come in, which HR filters then presents to the relevant managers for review. Eventually, candidates are contacted and arrive for their first round of interviews. But in most organizations, there is no defined lead time, or “response time”, from the time the hiring need is approved until
Operations
candidates walk in the door. Instead, it all depends on the individuals involved and how they decide what to work on. In fact, workflow in the office often varies so greatly, a meeting is required to get things prioritized and on track. Operational Excellence enables a better way. By achieving Operational Excellence in the office, HR professionals can create short, robust guaranteed turnaround times (GTTs) by flowing work through part-time processing cells along direct, physical pathways. The result is that HR employees will always know if they are on time, enhancing their ability to recruit top job candidates from the field of applicants. How to achieve operational excellence in HR The first step in creating Operational Excellence in HR is to create a process family matrix, in which we identify all the different activities for which HR is responsible for completing and attempt to leverage similarities among them to create flow. We typically aim for an 80 percent similarity in process content to form what’s known as a process family, and we create one flow in the office per process family. Suppose that after examining all the activities in HR, we determine that we can create a process family for hiring new employees that consists of the following activities (while there are many more activities involved in hiring a new employee than just the ones listed here, all of these steps must be completed along the way as new talent is sought):
“Operational Excellence is achieved by applying a specific set of guidelines geared toward designing flow in the office” 1. Request for new hire. 2. HR review. 3. Place advertisement. 4. Seek out internal company resources for compensation review. 5. Receive and filter résumés. 6. Contact interested candidates. 7. Schedule interviews. 8. Conduct interviews. 9. Schedule and conduct additional rounds of interviews as need. 10. Offer a candidate a position. Once we have identified all the activities that must be completed to hire a new employee, the typical continuous improvement inclination at this point would be to identify the biggest problem we face, brainstorm ways to fix it, implement a decision, and then measure and monitor the results. When something else goes wrong or needs improvement, we repeat this process again, eliminating the biggest source of pain to our business at the moment. However, this approach only leads to the optimization of certain areas of the flow at the expense of the flow overall, virtually guaranteeing that the customer (who, in this case, is the job candidate) does not experience any benefit. However, Operational Excellence is
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not achieved through brainstorming. It is achieved by applying a specific set of guidelines geared toward designing flow in the office: 1. Takt or takt capability 2. Continuous flow 3. First In, First Out (FIFO) 4. Workflow cycles 5. Integration events 6. Standard work 7. Single-point sequence initialization 8. Pitch 9. Changes in demand We need to apply these design guidelines to our flow in the order seen above. For example, we would determine the takt or takt capability of the flow first, then see where we can do continuous flow (or more likely part-time continuous flow, since office employees are shared resources), then see where we can implement FIFO lanes and create workflow cycles, and so on. The successful application of these guidelines ends up creating a robust guaranteed turnaround time for each process in the flow and even the entirety of the flow. That enables us to tell job candidates, with certainty, that we will contact them within a certain number of days, ensuring timely responses to them. Not only does the guaranteed turnaround time give us a greater chance of recruiting
“The successful application of these guidelines ends up creating a robust guaranteed turnaround time for each process in the flow and even the entirety of the flow� 40 |
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Operations
Figure 1.1 Compensation Review
Rec. & Filter Résumés
I
D
top talent, it eliminates the need to only go through the hiring process more than once to find someone qualified for the job. Operational excellence in HR: A practical example Because of the complexity of real-life HR environments, demonstrating how an entire end-to-end flow would work with workflow cycles, part-time continuous flow cells, and single-point sequence initialization would be a significant undertaking. To keep things simpler, we’ll instead look at how these concepts might apply to a section of the new-hire process family, specifically, the following activities numbered four through six above that take place during the hiring process: 4. Seek out internal company resources for compensation review. 5. Receive and filter résumés. 6. Contact interested candidates. If we were to draw this section of the flow in something called a value stream map, it would look similar to what we find in Figure 1.1. In Figure 1.1, the “I” found within the
Contact Candidates
I
triangles represents inventory present in the form of files or requests. The “D” represents delays, specifically those that are externally caused. If there were any that were internally caused, we would represent those with a “W.” The crosshatch symbol indicates that each of these processes are shared resources, meaning they are responsible for completing many different activities on any given day. It should be noted again that Figure 1.1 represents only one small piece of the overall flow. There would be additional processes before and after this segment that we would also have to handle, but for now, let’s look at what we might do with this part of the flow. At this point in the flow, we can see that HR needs to seek out internal company resources to begin assembling the details of various compensation packages. For example, finance might need to determine the range of salaries to be offered, while accounting might be needed to examine the cash flow impact these different salaries would have on the business. As we can see from Figure 1.1, the main problem with the flow is that there is no way to guarantee how long
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Figure 1.2 Compensation Review
Rec. & Filter Résumés
Tue & Fri from 10-12
Mon & Wed from 1-3
Finance
Design
M/W/F
Engineering
from 2-3:30 Contact Candidates
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HR
Pro Mgmt
FIFO
FIFO
GTT = 4 Days
it will take for the work to move from process to process. In short, there is no guaranteed turnaround time for the flow (or guaranteed response time), and this leads to internal disruptions in the organization that increase the likelihood of rework being needed and also the amount of time it takes to hire someone. By applying our office design guidelines to achieve Operational Excellence, we can eliminate these issues. One of the ways we can synchronize the timing of the flow between all of these processes is by creating part-time continuous flow cells. Based on the takt or takt capability of
“Applying our design guidelines to the office creates an environment where every employee can tell if the office is on time” 42 |
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the flow, employees would come together during workflow cycles in pre-determined locations to flow work in a “complete one, move one” fashion. Each employee would know what to work on next simply by working on whatever came to him or her in the flow. In other words, they would work on whatever the person before them in the flow gave to them. (See Figure 1.2) In Figure 1.2, the first two processes in the flow are part-time continuous flow cell. Employees get together at preset days and times to flow work (the specific timing is seen directly above each process and is governed by the established workflow cycle). At the first workflow cycle, representatives from HR, Finance, and Accounting would come together to review various compensation packages. Work would then flow in a First In, First Out (or FIFO) lane from the first part-time continuous flow processing cell to the next one, were résumés are received and filtered. The FIFO lane ensures that the sequence
Operations
of work is preserved from process to process, which helps create the guaranteed turnaround time for our flow since no individual piece of work will ever “jump” another. The segment of the flow shown in figure 1.2 has a guaranteed turnaround time of four days, meaning everyone in the organization can expect the work to have flowed through these three processes within four days, eliminating the need for meetings, status check-ups, and additional interruptions in the flow. At the “Receive and Filter Résumés” process, a workflow cycle brings together employees from HR, Design, Engineering, and Project Management, all of which are needed to vet candidate résumés. During the workflow cycle at this process, résumés would be evaluated by representatives from the different departments present. Selected résumés would then flow via FIFO lanes to the “Contact Candidates” process, where they would be used to get in touch with interested and qualified job candidates. Preserving the sequence of work, flowing it between processes in FIFO lanes, and using workflow cycles to flow work at preset times on preset days guarantees that each piece of the flow will have completed its work by a pre-determine time. This guaranteed turnaround time would even exist for
each individual process in the flow because the sequence of work does not change and we know how long it takes to complete the work at each process. In addition to the guidelines highlighted here, we also need to make sure we apply the rest of our guidelines, too, like standard work, pitch, integration events (if applicable), and systems to deal with changes in demand. Going forward, we would want to extrapolate the methodology described here to every other process in the flow, connecting each one with FIFO lanes, creating workflow cycles to regulate the flow of work, and even creating part-time continuous flow cells where applicable. Reduced time yields results Applying our design guidelines to the office creates an environment where every employee can tell if the office is on time. It creates an environment where, “Each and every employee can see the flow of value to the customer, and fix that flow before it breaks down.” By striving for and achieving Operational Excellence in the office, HR departments can dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to hire new employees, ensuring that their ability to recruit top talent in a minimal amount of time – and support the growth of the business well into the future.
About the author Kevin J. Duggan is the Founder of the Institute for Operational Excellence and Duggan Associates, an international training and advisory firm. He is the author of three books on the subject of applying advanced lean techniques to achieve Operational Excellence: “Design for Operational Excellence: A Breakthrough Strategy for Business Growth;” “Creating Mixed Model Value Streams;” and “The Office That Grows Your Business – Achieving Operational Excellence in Your Business Processes.”
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Elevating loyalty and innovation
Treat your organization’s with care, says former B Words by
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Gar
People
y productivity n in your workforce
s most valuable resource Businessman of the Year
ry Kunath BE Monthly
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hen a successful formula is discovered in the business world, it’s copied and becomes part of standard operating procedure throughout entire industries. The newest SOP trend among leading businesses? – Focusing on employee and family well-being, says Gary Kunath, who was honored nationally as Businessman of the Year and recognized with a dinner hosted by the President of the United States. “Many think that professional wellbeing drives personal well-being, but it’s the exact opposite,” says Kunath, a speaker at top business schools and businesses including Lockheed and Marriott, and author of Life...Don’t Miss It. I Almost Did: How I Learned To Live Life to Its Fullest. “The top companies know focusing on employee well-being is critical and serves as the conduit to increasing innovation, emotional loyalty, natural productivity and overall profitability, but they have exhausted the traditional vehicles inside their companies to do this, so they are focusing on impacting their employees lives ‘outside’ of the company.” Employee well-being is very smart business and everyone wins, he says; it’s the key to elevating associate engagement.
“People love that they are cared for just as much when leaving the building as they are when arriving” 46 |
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According to the Aspen Institute, more than 70 percent of employees today would sacrifice promotions and pay increases for family well-being. Yet only 40 percent of employees feel their employers demonstrate that they care about them, says the American Psychology Association. Several major corporations have approached Kunath and asked him to build a program that shows their people how to master life balance and maximize the joy and contentment in their lives, he says. “The results have been tremendous,” he says. “People love that they are cared for just as much when leaving the building as they are when arriving.” Kunath’s newest three hour seminar for businesses centers on employee life balance and well-being; here he offers five things business owners and employees should consider in achieving life balance. Bring humanity back to the workplace There are simple truths about what motivates employees today and what they want and need from their employers. Employee well-being drives profits and is good for business, he points out. Employers need to allow employees to completely disconnect from work in their off hours – for instance, not expecting them to respond to emails or conference calls after hours. He also points out the “Life Balance Dilemmas” people face, including his own; a former workaholic lifestyle nearly ruined his family relationships before he learned how to develop balance.
People
The “Life … Don’t Miss It” approach According to a Harvard study, we all have the capability to maximize our happiness regardless of the situation we find ourselves in. A large part of how happy you are is determined through intentional activity. There are things you can do to maximize happiness in your life even in the worst of adversities. Giving people a way to elevate their family well-being is critical to top performance on the job. Applying Life-Balance secrets Kunath targets 10 points for Mastering Life Balance. Some of those points are: Money doesn’t make you rich; Express gratitude to others; the power of perspective; relationship refinement (thinning the herd); and Good goes around. “All of these points go to the overall perspective of total life balance and focusing on the areas, and the people, that really matter,” he says. Power of Perspective Why is it that people who have faced death often live the most? Why must we wait for adversity to teach us to get
“A large part of how happy you are is determined through intentional activity” the most out of life? The answer is that you don’t. Kunath emphasizes various perspectives on how you can live life to the fullest every day and what the keys are to maximizing employee and family well-being. The three greatest gifts you can give your family For all the importance and effort involved in mastering a worklife to fund a family’s well-being, the three greatest gifts you have to offer are actually free! They are time, memories and traditions. Time is our greatest resource, and it’s also our most scarce, which makes memories all the more important. They give you a place to go for all of your life. Traditions live on after you’re gone; they’re a legacy you leave for your loved ones.
About the author Gary Kunath is the founder of The Summit Group, whichis ranked among the top sales-training companies in the world by Selling Power magazine. His value-creation approach received the “Innovative Practice of the Year Award” by 3M worldwide. He was named Businessman of the Year and was recognized at a dinner hosted by the president of the United States. He has lectured extensively at prominent business schools, and is currently an adjunct professor at The Citadel’s Sports Marketing graduate program. Kunath is an owner of several professional minor league baseball teams along with his partners, Bill Murray, Jimmy Buffet and Mike Veeck. The group is famous for managing its teams around the “Fun is Good” approach. www.lifedontmissitbook.com
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industry focus:
Overcoming Chief Executive of DECOM North Sea, Brian Nixon, discusses the recent DECOM Offshore 2013 event and how its outcomes exceeded everyone’s expectations 48 | BE Monthly
DECOM Offshore 2013
ing obstacles
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n 27 March 2013, the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre played host to the first DECOM Offshore event. Conceived and hosted by DECOM North Sea, the aim of this interactive event was to advise the decommissioning supply chain of the challenges that operators and tier 1 contractors face when undertaking an
offshore decommissioning project. A mixture of interactive plenary sessions, exhibition space and 1-2-1 opportunities, the event was also there to inform the aforementioned operators and contractors of the many innovative solutions and techniques that the supply chain of today has to offer to address the challenges they face and how by rallying together the industry can start to reap the rewards of the
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industry focus:
“The feedback we have had so far has been very positive indeed and bodes extremely well for future events” multi-billion pound business opportunity that is North Sea decommissioning. “This event came together as a result of the efforts of our industry members and their desire to have a collaborative, collective view from across the sector as to what the key challenges are for the decommissioning sector and how these can be overcome,” explains Chief Executive of DECOM North Sea, Brian Nixon. For its part, DECOM North Sea went about the task of encouraging a group of operators and contractors to put forward a comprehensive review of the said challenges and divide them into four different areas of the decommissioning programme. The first of these is the sub-surface area, which relates to work conducted below the seabed and the particular obstacles that are aligned to the plugging and abandoning of many thousands of wells in the North Sea. The feedback DECOM North Sea has received from some of these early projects indicates that they are taking longer, costing more and presenting more technical challenges than had been anticipated; and this needs to be addressed urgently. The second area of interest relates to the subsea environment between the water line and the seabed. It is here that there is an
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enormous amount of infrastructure ranging from pipelines to manifolds, production systems, umbilicals, risers and mooring systems, all of which have to be removed and decommissioned. The third area of debate at DECOM Offshore looked specifically at infrastructure removals and the challenges that accompany the removal of topside structures, integrated production platforms and mainly steel jackets, while the fourth looked at onshore disposal, namely the dismantling, treatment and recycling of equipment removed from the North Sea. “The strap line of the event,” Nixon continues, “was to ‘Confront Challenges and Create Opportunities’, so in addition to getting an agreed list of the challenges that we must collectively work to overcome, one of the principle aims of the event was to provide individual companies with clear understanding and confidence as it relates to the business opportunities that these challenges present. Our steadfast belief is that for each challenge our industry faces there is an equal opportunity for a certain type of company to come forward with innovations or solutions to remedy the situation and prosper from it.” With DECOM Offshore 2013 complete,
Credit: Graham Scott, geograph.org.uk
DECOM Offshore 2013
Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre
Nixon at last has the chance “I think what was also to reflect on how the event encou rag i ng,” Ni xon played out and what positives concludes, “is that we saw can be taken from it. “We a good representation of companies who are more or were absolutely delighted Delegates appeared at with not only how the event less new to the sector and DECOM Offshore 2013 who were using the event to played out but also the initial reactions we have received clarify or confirm what their business opportunities are, from attendees. Being an inaugural event naturally meant that there and then package their service offering or technology to make it absolutely suitable was an element of risk involved in staging such a large gathering, not least from a for the decommissioning sector. So the financial and reputational perspective, but feedback we have had so far has been very the results have exceeded our expectations.” positive indeed and bodes extremely well Indeed, while the organisation went into for future events.” DECOM Offshore expecting to attract around 150 delegates, the final total was more than For more information about 200, a fact that Nixon sees as proof of the DECOM Offshore 2013 visit: overwhelming support the industry has for www.decomnorthsea.com the decommissioning sector.
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industry focus:
written by: Will Daynes | research by: Adam Kalynuk
Boskalis Offshore is the driving force behind the offsho activities of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, one of the figures within the maritime sector for the last 100 year
A century of s 52 | BE Monthly
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industry focus:
Boskalis Offshore
E
Removal of an offshore platform
ven since a group of families went about setting up a new dredging business in 1910, Royal Boskalis Westminster NV has built itself a commanding reputation for being a leading global maritime services company operating in the fields of dredging, inland infrastructure, towage, salvage and offshore energy. Operational in more than 75 countries across six continents with an employee base of around 15,600 people and a fleet of more than 1,100 vessels and equipment, Boskalis’ main clients today include port operators, governments, shipping companies, mining companies, international project developers and oil companies. Boskalis Offshore is a part of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, and in its own right is a leading expert in offshore contracting and services. The company supports the activities of the international energy sector, including oil and gas companies and providers of renewable energy such as wind, by offering its customers innovative and competitive solutions, including new installation and improved workability concepts. Today one will find Boskalis Offshore involved in the development, construction, maintenance and decommissioning of oil and LNG import and export facilities, offshore platforms, pipelines and cables, as well as offshore wind farms. In conducting its work the company leverages its vast expertise, which covers offshore pipeline, cable and rock installation, heavy transport, lifting and installation work, as well as diving and ROV services.
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industry focus:
The work that Boskalis Offshore is doing falls in line with its impressive track record of project delivery that includes a variety of highly demanding energy projects. This legacy of stepping up the challenges of its customers remains intact to this day and was the driving force behind the decision to expand further through the incorporation of the former heavy lift and subsea activities of its subsidiary SMIT in 2012. This move represented another step towards Boskalis Offshore becoming very much a one-stop solutions provider that can provide services across each phase of a project. Boskalis Offshore’s services are performed by its four subdivisions, these being Subsea Contracting, Subsea Services, Marine Services and Marine Contracting. The company’s Subsea Contracting team works specifically with landfall solutions, trenching and backfilling, and rock and cable installation, while Subsea Services focuses on tasks such as air/saturation diving and ROVs, subsea construction and removal and inspection, repair and maintenance works. The company’s Marine Services subdivision serves the market with chartering of anchor handling tugs (AHTs), barges and sheer legs, and complementary maritime project management and engineering. Finally the
Marine Contracting section of the business offers clients an integrated package on the basis of transport and installation (T&I) or engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of marine infrastructure and decommissioning projects. Such projects include fixed offshore structures like platforms, offshore wind farms and tidal installation, and floating offshore structures including SPM buoys and FPSOs.
“For the near term we have a well-filled order book with many projects across all of our disciplines” 56 | BE Monthly
Boskalis Offshore
Bosk a lis Of fshore’s Schoenmaeckers, Manager marine contracting activities for Oil and Gas, “involved the bring together various removal and disposal of two platforms and one subsea fields of expertise to create comprehensive, cost-effective dome in the North Sea as a Countries that Boskalis is solutions that are specifically major contractor on a lump present within today tailored to the customers’ sum basis. Decommissioning is a key focus for the Marine requirements. All of its Cont rac t ing business. endeavours are based on maintaining close contact with its customers We believe that with our knowledge, and a consistently high level of service to experience, and assets we can play a create a mutually beneficial and productive key role in the coming decommissioning requirements from the market.” working environment. Boskalis Offshore Marine Contracting While the company is more than capable of certainly has a strong track record when providing integral decommissioning packages it comes to the decommissioning of both including preparatory removal works with floating and fixed offshore structures. its diving support vessels (DSVs), lifting and “A recent project,” explains Michiel transport of the platforms with its sheer
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industry focus:
The platform is brought to shore for decommissioning
Boskalis Offshore legs and marine vessels, and disposal with its partners, challenges do remain. “The main challenges stem from obtaining complete and accurate data of the current facility status,” Schoenmaeckers continues. “Many assets have had several owners throughout the value chain, and consequently facility data regarding installations and alterations can be difficult to retrieve.” Nevertheless, the company is striving to overcome these difficulties and in doing so has placed itself in a strong position for both short and long-term growth. “For the near term we have a well-filled order book with many projects across all of our disciplines,” Schoenmaeckers states. “This includes the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm project in the Irish Sea for DONG Energy and Scottish Power Renewables, various rock installation works for companies including Statoil, subsea inspection and maintenance contracts for companies like Maersk Oil, and a substantial offshore contract with Impex for the Ichthys LNG project in Australia.” Meanwhile moves have been made by Boskalis to further strengthen and expand its range of services for the offshore energy sector through the acquisition of Dockwise, a provider of maritime services including transport services to the offshore and onshore industries and installation of extremely heavy
offshore platforms, and is now planning to incorporate this into its business. The combination of activities will place Boskalis in a better position to service clients with the optimal deployment of people and equipment, and enable it to fast track its ambition to enhance its capabilities with regard to transport and installation projects. It goes without saying that at the same time Boskalis Offshore will work to stay true to the qualities and strengths that have defined Royal Boskalis Westminster NV for over a century. For more information about Boskalis Offshore visit: www.boskalis.com
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Growing gas – a two-way flow
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NGC Trinidad & Tobago
How the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) looks to fulfil a new mandate to extend its influence internationally
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Robert Hodgson
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Installations at NGC’s Beachfield facility
NGC Trinidad & Tobago
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elcoming delegates to the 2013 Energy conference in Port of Spain in January, the Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Kevin Ramnarine set out his vision for NGC to be the vehicle for growth through which the country can expand its footprint at home and abroad. NGC should be encouraged, he said, to become to Trinidad & Tobago what Statoil is to Norway or Petrobras to Brazil. The man charged with overseeing that transformation is Indar Maharaj, who was appointed NGC’s President in April 2012. Maharaj, a chemical engineer by training, knows the industry intimately from the downstream perspective, having worked in it for more than 30 years, many of them with Point Lisas Nitrogen Limited (PLNL) on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, home to most of the heavy gas-based industry in Trinidad. The years ahead are certainly going to be a time of change, he agrees, but NGC has all the experience and the energy it will need. NGC was formed in August 1975 because the government of the day needed an entity to manage the natural gas purchase contract with Amoco and to transport the gas from Amoco’s fields off the east coast of Trinidad to the Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) for power generation, as well as to other smaller customers. At the time the company was formed there were just a few miles of 16 inch pipeline transporting about 300 million cubic feet a day of gas. Today some 38 years later the company operates 1,000 kilometres of pipeline and has assets of over US$5 billion, making it one of the
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largest companies in the Caribbean and Latin America measured by assets. “The existing NGC business model, which has worked well, will however not provide the accelerated growth that is desired,” said Ramnarine. “The question now for NGC becomes one of capital efficiency and growth. Companies we are told grow through pursuing a strategy of diversification, divestment, acquisition and internal growth or combinations of these strategies. The time has come for NGC to consider the forward and backward vertical integration of its business and seek investment opportunities outside of this country.” The Minister pointed out that NGC is already in discussion with three multinational companies in Trinidad and Tobago for the acquisition of all or part of their assets, and that it is also examining investment opportunities in Africa. For NGC this means taking a new direction and dramatically broadening its horizons beyond its core business of natural gas marketing and transportation.. While NGC has invested in upstream oil and gas ventures, these have been limited to Trinidad and Tobago. As Maharaj explains it: “NGC has always been an inward-looking organisation - that is to say that all our investment has been made in Trinidad and Tobago. We now
think it is about time we did two things. One is to get ourselves more involved in both the upstream and the downstream as an investor; the second is to start looking outside of Trinidad & Tobago for opportunities to invest in the energy sector.” Downstream opportunities include programmes like the provision of compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation, and the supply of gas to the light industrial
“We are encouraging investors to look downstream, and... we will always be looking to see if there is an opportunity for us to take a stake” 64 | BE Monthly
NGC Trinidad & Tobago
NGC Tobago pipeline gas receiving facility
and commercial sectors the industry will be boosted by developing another hub at on the islands. “We are the Union Industrial Estate encouraging investors to look downstream, and where in La Brea on the south-west they do see an opening we peninsula of the island. “We will always be looking to see will develop the infrastructure if there is an opportunity for industrial development NGC’s current asset base and we have a priority to get for us to take a stake.” In less than 20 years, he adds, investors in there so we can Trinidad and Tobago has expand the markets for gas. been able to create one of the world’s most We are now putting the structures and the groups in place that will allow us to go and diversified natural gas economies. The thrust of the government in the next start looking for those investments.” phase of the country’s industrial development Here serious progress has already been is towards a more robust downstream industry made. In April, seven entities including the that focuses on projects that will go beyond Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, and first-level gas conversion, as well as further the Japanese firms, Mitsubishi Corporation LNG expansion. The greater diversification of and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company
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signed a project development agreement for the establishment at the Union Industrial Estate of Trinidad and Tobago’s first Methanol Dimethyl Ether (DME) plant. The initial investment for phase one of the project is estimated at $850 million with completion envisaged in 2016. According to Minister Ramnarine, this project, which could include further phases, “presents several distinct but unique opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago with respect to the further diversification of the energy sector, growth of the economy,
development of the South Western peninsula, regional energy and local content.” One of the mandates for NGC at the time of Mr Maharaj’s appointment was that the organisation should be prepared to get involved not only in local projects like the Methanol to DME project But also projects outside of Trinidad and Tobago. Of particular interest is the continent of Africa, both east and west. A relationship is developing rapidly with Tanzania, where large gas deposits have recently been discovered
“The question now for NGC becomes one of capital efficiency and growth”
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NGC Trinidad & Tobago
The change from a local to offshore. NGC has already a global operator will not be been providing technical services to Tanzania, and in without its growing pains, but 2012 NGC, National Energy the policy is in place and NGC’s and the Tanzania Petroleum management is now in active Development Company negotiation for the purchase of an interest in upstream signed a Memorandum of Phase 1 investment assets. The Trinidad Gas Understanding (MOU) for in DME project Model of Development has a co-operation between both framework that emerging gascountries’ energy sectors. rich economies would love to Tanzania finds itself now where Trinidad and Tobago was in the replicate. Success in this area will allow NGC, 1980s, he says. “Hydrocarbon deposits were for the first time, to provide its employees being found and were ripe for development with international experience. Discussions but no infrastructure was in place. We have continue on prospective investments in Ghana been through that experience in the recent and Tanzania and the Eastern Caribbean Gas past and I believe we have a lot of experience Pipeline Project, he says. “The Tobago pipeline and know how to monetise those resources.” will provide the staging point for the proposed
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“We will encourage people to switch from liquid fuel to natural gas in their vehicles” Eastern Caribbean Pipeline Project, which is expected to supply approximately 119 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Barbados, and potentially to other islands in the eastern Caribbean.” He is referring to a 55 kilometre natural gas pipeline from the BHP Billiton Gas Export Platform (GEP) in the Angostura Field off the north-east coast of Trinidad to a receiving facility on Tobago. The Tobago pipeline started operation in November last year. “In another decade I would like to see NGC being an organisation that is involved in
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most of the natural gas and energy value chain, both in Trinidad and Tobago and overseas.” For this to happen, people will be crucial, he emphasises. “The human capacity within this company has been developed to do what we have been doing for many years; that is accumulating gas, distributing and selling it. The things we want to do now call for a different approach. We need to start retraining people and we need to start looking for new talent to bring in to the organisation to complement the huge experience we
NGC Trinidad & Tobago
already have.” To do this he wants to target people of Trinbagonian origin working in the international oil and gas industry. Given the new opportunities NGC can now offer he is convinced that many will respond. After all this is a great company to work for, as evidenced by the low turnover among its 800 strong workforce: “I can say for sure that once they come they don’t go!” At the same time as gaining recognition in the international arena, Maharaj concludes, NGC is on the verge of becoming more deeply involved in the daily life of the nation than ever before. One of the major developments that is happening on his watch is delivery of a CNG transportation revolution in Trinidad and Tobago that the government wants to see come about. “We will encourage people
to switch from liquid fuel to natural gas in their vehicles. That we think will touch most of the population. We are a national gas company, looking to expand our CSR programme and integrate it with the fabric of society by looking at areas where there are developmental needs, sport development, health, culture and education so that people can identify with us more than they have been able to in the past.” It is a prospect that excites him, as the leader of a company mandated to expand and, crucially, with the financial resources it needs to make that happen. For more information about NGC Trinidad & Tobago visit: www.ngc.co.tt
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South African Oil & Gas Alliance
Changing the
South African energy game On the brink of world class oil and gas discoveries South Africa is ready to join the global top table, with a major role to be played by the South African Oil & Gas Alliance (SAOGA)
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: James Boyle
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SAOGA
I
t’s not all about cubic feet and billions of dollars for Mthozami Xiphu, Executive Director of SAOGA since he took over leadership of the organisation from Warwick Blyth in February this year. Xiphu is a man who feels passionately that developing the oil and gas resources, onshore and offshore could radically change the dynamics of South African society. The country has achieved massive growth since the cancer of apartheid was excised some 20 years ago: but it pains him to admit that many citizens have yet to feel the full benefits of that growth and of the democracy they now enjoy. They expected better. A big part of the solution, he believes, lies in tackling unemployment, inequality and deprivation, between them the main causes of the petty crime and other social ills that plague the poorest parts of the country. “The resources we are sitting on are located in some of the most economically depressed parts of the country. By developing them and growing businesses to support, supply and provide services to the large investors we can look to create a lot of employment, grow skills and lift people out of the cycle of deprivation. That is what excites me!” Before moving to SAOGA Xiphu had racked up seven years as CEO of the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA), which is the licensing authority under the Department of Mineral Resources. SAOGA has a similar goal in the development of national assets to the benefit of the people, and is also governed by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002, however as a representative body for the upstream industry
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SAOGA
Oil rig in the bay of Cape Town
one of SAOGA’s main aims is to smooth the PASA, he explains, because as well as receiving path for participants seeking to come into funding from the Department of Trade and South Africa. One of the principal changes we Industry, the Western Cape government and may expect to see following the appointment the City of Cape Town where it is based, it is of the new CEO is closer co-operation substantially funded by its members. “We are between these two key bodies in the twin a true public-private partnership!” tasks of winning greater energy security for The reason for its location in this part of South Africa is partly historic, partly because the country and growing the economy. Having played a major role in developing the this is where a cluster of upstream supplier sector over the last decade, he is very excited companies had developed in the province about the potential for SAOGA in response to upstream at this particular time. “Our growth in West Africa and member companies tend to the establishment of domestic be in rig repairs, fabrication, production in Mossel Bay in pipelines and all the supply the late 1980s. It is also home to the port of Saldanha, where and support services of the Estimated gas it is proposed to establish an upstream industry in South recoverable from industrial development zone Africa.” The organisation is Ibhubesi field not a parastatal in the mould of (IDZ). Today SAOGA has a
540 bCF
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national footprint and focus although the Western Cape remains the de facto centre of upstream supplier activity in South Africa. SAOGA has never been more relevant, he says. “Over the last twelve months we have seen immense growth in exploration activity in South Africa. We have had no fewer than seven seismic surveys right round our coast. Those surveys will naturally lead to exploration, depending on the outcomes of the analysis, and of course the more exploration the more the chances of discoveries leading to production. We are excited about that.” The mission of PASA was to get companies to pick up licences off South African shores: now that majors like ExxonMobil, Total, Shell and Chevron together with a number of smaller players are joining indigenous players like
Aerial view of Cape Town’s waterfront
76 | BE Monthly
PetroSA and Sasol, the field is beginning to get busy at last, he says. Though the results of the seismic surveys he referred to are not yet available, there are encouraging results from surveys along the west coast, notably the Orange Basin, where a proven reserve of 201 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas has just been confirmed by Sunbird in the Ibhubesi gas field, with a probable 540 bcf recoverable in Phase 2. “Ibhubesi could contain anything from 800 billion to a trillion cubic feet, and they should be producing within the next two years.” When it is considered that the Mossel Bay gas field, which feeds the Mossgas gas-toliquids project that has been producing for 20 years and supplies South Africa with five percent of its gas requirements, was floated
SAOGA
“Ibhubesi could contain anything from 800 billion to a trillion cubic feet, and they should be producing within the next two years” on a reserve of one tcf, the current offshore reserves are significant. However there are far more significant gas reserves onshore, in the form of coal bed methane, mainly in Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces. These are located in existing coal mining areas, and the PASA had reported that there could be anything form ten to 20 bcf to be extracted here. If that sounds exciting, well it is. But it is
nothing like as exciting as the prospect of shale gas discoveries, and it is these that Mthozami Xiphu thinks have the potential to be a game changer for the South African energy industry. At the moment, there is only a preliminary assessment, albeit an authoritative one. The United States Energy Information Administration made a first pass estimate of a technically recoverable resource of 485 tcf of gas in the Karoo Basin. PASA evaluated this assessment and concluded that, owing to the limited amount of available data in the area, it is impossible to quantify the resource accurately, other than to say that it is potentially very large. It wisely said that additional, modern subsurface information should be obtained through drilling or a geophysical survey. However as Xiphu points out if Mossgas is so important at one tcf, even if the Karoo reserves amount to no more than 20 or 30 tcf their significance would be massive. “If we get a hundred or multiples of a hundred tcf we are looking at a game changer for energy in South Africa over the next ten years!” Shale gas is certainly present in large amounts, enough to elevate South Africa to fifth in the world’s gas producing nations after Mexico, Argentina, the USA and China. And drilling has not even taken place yet though technical cooperation permits (TCPs) for
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exploration have been obtained by a number of companies such as Falcon Oil & Gas, Sunset Energy, Shell, Anglo Coal and a joint venture between Sasol, Chesapeake and Statoil. He explains why. “The one method for extracting shale gas at the moment is hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and that method is controversial all around the world. Our government has been very cautions. Originally we at SAOGA imposed a moratorium on exploration pending the completion of the licensing round across the Karoo, however the government then followed it up and said everything should be put on hold pending a study to advise on a reasonably safe method of extraction that would be environmentally robust.” The southern Karoo where the shale gas is lodged is a water stressed area, he adds, and the farming community is worried over the water issue given that fracking requires a lot of water. And all stakeholders worry about the potential for contamination of the water supply either by escaping methane or by fracking chemicals. “These are not insurmountable problems if you have the proper regulatory and monitoring systems, and this is what the government is putting together at this time before it allows companies to start drilling in the Karoo.” The United States has achieved energy self sufficiency through its shale gas, and South
Africa could do the same. Xiphu chaired the working group that presented the report on shale gas exploitation to the Department of Mineral Resources in 2012. As part of this he and his team visited Pennsylvania and Texas, then recommended that further specific studies should be carried out. But he’d like to see this done as soon as possible, and exploration to commence. Not only would it be a massive boost to the economy, it could transform the lives of some of its poorest communities as it
“If we get a hundred tcf of shale gas we are looking at a game changer for energy in South Africa over the next ten years!” 78 | BE Monthly
SAOGA
Established road, rail, sea and air routes make South Africa an ideal logistics base
brings in investment and jobs, stimulating the growth of mid-stream and down-stream industries. And these would be skilled jobs, with opportunities for much needed training and development. Xiphu’s vision for SAOGA is to make it a truly national organisation. Though it already has members from Gauteng to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, he would like to see more participation from other provincial governments. That may take a little time. In the short term, he is throwing all his energies into achieving the declaration of the Saldanha IDZ and has been having meetings with key organisations such as the Department of Trade & Industry, Transnet and the National Ports Authority to ensure that the declaration happens before the end of July. Saldanha will do for the oil and gas sector what Coega does for the automotive industry in South Africa or
Richards Bay for coal, he says, and he can’t wait for it to happen. Another priority for SAOGA is skills development, he continues. “We cannot advertise South Africa as a hub for upstream production industry in the continent if we don’t have the relevant skills. We must encourage skills development, interactive development, intentional institutions and universities. And we must work with the industry to ensure that the people we train are able to get jobs, even at the apprenticeship level if not at permanent employment level, so that they immediately get the experience. Then as exploration takes off, discoveries are made around South Africa and the industry grows and grows in South Africa with discoveries around South Africa we can poise ourselves to be a real hub for the whole of southern Africa!” After all, South Africa has the deep water
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SAOGA
“We cannot advertise South Africa as a hub for upstream production industry in the continent if we don’t have the relevant skills” ports, the ship repair and fabrication facilities and the infrastructure that the industry needs. It makes sense for a company operating off Tanzania or Mozambique to repair its vessels and FPSOs in nearby South Africa rather than in Singapore or Aberdeen, he points out. It is all there on their doorstep – the only thing that needs building is the skills base specifically related to the oil and gas industries. SAOGA pulls together the training institutions across South Africa and matches them up with its member companies: “For example we are running a programme right now for 20 students to be trained on our west coast and we got Chevron to give financial support to that venture. And we place the trainees with our members so that they get the hands-on experience to improve their learning and output. Take welding. In our industry that is a highly specialised skill – run of the mill welders won’t do. We see it as part of our remit to ensure that these high level engineering skills are provided as well as just the basic trade qualifications.” South Africa is not really known yet for its oil and gas industry but its advantages are beginning to be realised. “We are not a Nigeria at this stage but even before the shale gas came on the scene we were already attracting interest.” His enthusiasm is based on realism, he insists. The industry has a
great future and SAOGA is one of the main driving forces. What might slow things down? Well he is lobbying for greater certainty and transparency in legislation – this would really leverage the advantage of the IDZs. “If you are having even minor repairs done to high value equipment you still have to put down large sums in security even if you can claim it back later.” And some proposed changes to the Minerals and Petroleum Development Act worry him: it is important for companies considering doing business in South Africa to know precisely what the government’s percentage carried interest in exploration and production rights will amount to. While Mthozami Xiphu is entirely behind the principle that the country needs to retain a fair share of the proceeds of its resources, especially for the benefit of its previously disadvantaged citizens, his members and potential members have the right to know in advance exactly what that share will be before they commit to invest. This legal and fiscal certainty will ensure South Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination. For more information about South African Oil and Gas Alliance visit: www.saoga.org.za
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Tomorrow starts here Malta’s Cisco operations are an epitome of its global significance as the industry enters its next evolutionary phase
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: james boyle 82 | BE Monthly
Cisco Malta
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B
eing the world’s most successful networking company Cisco’s ubiquity is a given and it has been ‘present’ in Malta as throughout Europe and the Mediterranean area for decades through its channel partners. However its physical presence only dates from 2008, when an office was set up under its current manager Ruben Azzopardi, a man with a deep understanding of Cisco’s products and capabilities as a senior executive at one of its principal local customers. In 2011 the company was the first to move into SmartCity, a joint venture between SmartCity Dubai and the government of Malta designed to make the island a hub for ICT in the region. That was natural enough. Located on 360,000 square metres of land in the Ricasoli area close to the capital Valetta, SmartCity Malta is destined to become a flagship development: it is a state of the art ICT township, with all the buildings knit together and managed by systems based on Cisco’s infrastructure. “We believe this is an important and strategic project for the country,” says Azzopardi. “It is going to provide a focus to develop the ICT knowledge industries generally. We felt we should be part of it!” It will help transform the country, he believes. Cisco’s presence in Malta is helping it to develop projects that will contribute to the improvement of ICT and its application in the country, Azzopardi explains. Operationally Malta falls within Cisco’s South Region comprising Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Israel, France, Italy Portugal and Spain. Malta is clearly the smallest of these economies, but
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Cisco Malta
$14.5 trillion Cisco’s estimate of ICT market by 2020
Nikos Botinis
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it is a country that punches above its weight in the EC and in terms of ICT it experiences no disadvantages. “We have found that having the office here allows us to be closer to our customers and to develop the sector in a more successful and satisfactory manner. We can pull in resources from different locations according to what we need here in this country.” In that he has the support of Cisco’s Regional Sales Manager Nikos Botinis, based in Athens. “Malta is strategically a key territory that helps us to be part of the mature markets of Europe and also the developing markets in the Middle East. But Maltese companies also need to transform their business. We feel the Maltese community is ready to take advantage of those domestic businesses – some of them very successful that are focused on the IT industry.” Cisco’s 30-year history is a long one in ICT and the company has metamorphosed more than once. In its early years it perfected a simple architecture for ethernet switching; its second decade saw it answer the challenge of increasing bandwidth with is GSR routers; then in 2006 it launched its Human Network programme to bring it closer to the end user. Now it is anticipating the future of the internet. If we think of the growth of
Cisco Malta
Ruben Azzopardi
communications in the last 30 years as exponential, well we ain’t seen anything yet, says Botinis. Every business will be able to take advantage of what Cisco is calling the Internet of Everything. “You could call IoE the intelligent connection of people processes and things. We do feel at Cisco that this will be the trend for the next decade.” Cisco’s aim is to become the number one IT player in the world within the next three years by taking advantage, with its partners round the world,
in the next major evolution of the internet. The fundamentals support this ambition. Back in 1995 there were just a million internet-enabled connections. E-commerce, social media and the cloud, the most recent evolution, have escalated that to around three billion today, however Cisco estimates that by 2020 the number will rise to almost 50 billion. That translates into a worldwide business opportunity of $14.4 trillion, roughly 45 percent of them being
“We are putting in a lot of effort on our mobile providers’ behalf to help them meet the demand from their users” BE Monthly | 87
“We are asking our partners to take advantage of this evolution and transform their business, whatever that may be” machine-to-machine, or connections that take place between objects without the need for human intervention. Within that there is a large addressable segment for Cisco: “We are asking our partners to take advantage of
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this evolution and transform their business, whatever that may be.” The reality is that the mobile internet is already a reality the Internet of things is only just starting, as everyday objects like medical
Cisco Malta
devices learning programmes, cars, houses as well as white goods join the party that is already in full swing in industry. Cisco will be the enabler, to connect all these devices with each other and with people. Won’t Malta just be a small pawn in this massive game? No way, says Ruben Azzopardi. Everything that happens in western Europe is relevant to Malta: “The latest information from the Visual Networking Index (VNI – Cisco’s analysis of global communications networking) forecasts there are going to be 2.1 mobile connected devices per person in
Europe by 2017, and this means mobile data traffic will have grown about eightfold over the five years between 2012 and 2017. That gives us an idea of where customers and users want to see better performance, and where the demand for bandwidth is coming from. We are putting in a lot of effort on our mobile providers’ behalf to help them meet the demand from their users.” The whole point about the IoE is that it is also the Internet of Everywhere. Malta cannot afford to be insular – no pun intended – where these opportunities are concerned.
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So he has a multifocused strategy, part of which concentrates on Maltese businesses. “In general,” says Ruben, “Cisco is very active in the space of service providers like Melita and Go on the Malta home front, and we are doing this by delivering solutions around what we call intelligent networks. Demand on these service providers is growing daily, and to help them meet it Cisco offers software defined networks driven by Cisco’s open network environment (ONE) that takes networks into the next, more virtual, generation. “It is about making the services a telecoms company can give more relevant to the user and more attuned to give a better user experience,” he says.
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The two rival networks on Malta, Go and Melita, have already benefited from this approach, Go having adopted Cisco Prime Network as a fault management tool that has reduced its infrastructure costs at the same time helping it provide a better service. And Cisco helped Melita to deploy the latest generation of cable technology enabling it to take broadband access to much higher speeds of 100 MB and above in Malta. Melita was one of the first companies in Europe to roll this out on a countrywide basis and the project has become a benchmark for customers in other territories, he proclaims. His job is to introduce leading edge technologies and stay ahead of the evolution
Cisco Malta
“We are giving Maltese companies the tools, the platforms and the development kits to take their ideas and their abilities to that market” defined by IoE and technologies like ONE. A solid ICT infrastructure can support the economy directly and indirectly, he stresses: ICT is basically a supporting infrastructure. It creates high value jobs as well. Malta has been at a very good level when it comes to adoption and introduction of technology at various levels so I think having a healthy
ICT industry and infrastructure helps other parts of the economy. Moreover we are making sure that we have certified specialised and trained people to support the business here in Malta and by transference to neighbours in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.” Nikos Botinis agrees: “Each country has to decide on the strategic advantages and the strategic areas it has within the EU. And then the ICT comes in as an enabler to multiply the effect on the strategy that has been decided on a country level. I would say that this is our role at Cisco, to add value and catalyse this multiplier effect. We started in Malta with one partner and two or three resellers and we now have 25 authorised resellers and we have more than 50 Cisco engineers. Is this adequate? No, to be honest, but we feel Malta is on the right track with the adoption of programs like the Cisco Network Academy Program where we jointly develop engineers in the local market.” Another area of focus for Cisco is the cloud and the growth of software as a service (SaaS) and for Cisco’s direct partners infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Cisco is leading the way with newly announced tools. “We have created an infrastructure platform for our
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Cisco Malta customers to be able to go on the application layer because this is the fundamental part,” says Azzopardi. A key element within ONE is a programme development kit (onePK) that allows application providers to create ‘hooks’ or new applications relating to the network. “It is a more ‘standard’ way of interacting with the network, he explains. “It is still cumbersome to interact with a network device and you need very specific technical knowledge of how that device works. With onePK it is easier for developers to actually talk to the network and ask it to do things or ask it to give information back.” As the internet grew it became complex. The task now is to simplify it again and return the benefits of flexibility and ease of use to application developers. “But this also gives an opportunity to the local developers to think about what they can do to simplify the experience for their users,” says Nikos Botinis. “The network touches everything!” Malta intends to be right in there, promises Ruben Azzopardi. “We are saying to the Maltese companies: ‘You have a vehicle. The government is investing in creating an environment in SmartCity to develop technologies relevant all over the world, not just Europe. What you can develop here can be marketed all over the world.’ We are giving them the tools, the platforms and the development kits to take their ideas and their abilities to that market.” For more information about Cisco Malta visit: www.cisco.com
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Delivering
seamless service written by: Will Daynes | research by: David Brogan
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NTT Communications
NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, discusses the growing importance of Thailand to the South East Asian region and how the internet and other telecoms services are becoming ever more critical to people’s lives
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NTT senior management team
NTT Communications
W
ith the internet age in full swing and very much a part of everyday life in the Western world and developed nations, it is in the fast-developing nations across the world that the expansion of the digital sector is most prevalent today. One such country that is currently experiencing a rapid expansion in internet usage is Thailand, where access to the technology has become an increasing necessity, not only in business, but also in personal life. NTT Communications (Thailand) is as aware as anyone else of the importance of the network that connects Thailand to other countries and the role this network will play when it comes to companies looking to expand their global business in Thailand. NTT Communications (Thailand) is a subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), itself a division of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Founded in 1999, NTT Com specialises in delivering high-quality voice, data and IP services to its customers around the world. Renowned for its diverse information and communication services, expertise in managed networks, hosting and IP networking services as well as industry leadership in IPv6 technology, NTT Com currently has over 17,800 employees working from subsidiaries and offices in 87 cities in 31 countries and regions around the world. “Here in Thailand,” explains NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima, “there is a great deal
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NTT Communications
of evidence that highlights and today has key systems i nteg r at ion , net work the growing importance of the internet and IT solutions integration and application as a whole, not least the i nteg rat ion p r oj e c t s running with over 600 key recently completed 3G NTT Com employees customer clients. frequency auction. It goes worldwide In response to the evolving without saying therefore that for many large telecoms nature of the industry the operators, Thailand has become a market of company plans to increase the number of staff it employs, while also developing more particular interest.� Indeed this interest has led to a number detailed services such as consultation, system of multi-national companies, particularly provisioning and support. Furthermore, those based in Japan, beginning to it promises its customers with end-to-end invest increasing amounts of capital into support while connecting with international operations in Thailand. For its part NTT branches of NTT Communications in order to Communications (Thailand) has been a key support their specific needs. player in launching the Enterprise Cloud “Through a combination of our existing Services Platform into South-East Asia, services, including security services, system
17,000
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NTT Communications
integration, enterprise cloud service and has dissuaded major multi-national players in enterprise co-location services, and new the vein of Microsoft or Google from turning solutions, I believe we are extremely well their attentions to the country, as well as placed to expand our customer reach on focusing their efforts on markets such as both a domestic and international scale,” Hong Kong and Singapore. “With the number of 3G users in the Kawashima continues. “Our strategy for the short and long-term future calls for us country growing, and with this in turn having to meet the growing demands of both Thai a significant positive impact on internet and international customers. In terms of the usage, now appears to be the perfect time former, one of the primary to capitalise on the business ways we intend to do this is opportunities that a new through the construction and state-of-the-art data centre opening of a new data centre could bring,” Kawashima here in Thailand.” enthuses. This view is Until now Thailand has clearly one that is shared When NTT’s new lacked such infrastructure, by those in government, Thailand data centre is a fact that many, including with the Thailand Board expected to open Kawashima himself, believe of Investment announcing
2014
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NTT Communications (Thailand) President, Tsuyoshi Kawashima
NTT Communications
“While we will continue to pursue geographic expansion, we will also remain true to our commitment to increasing our local presence” in 2011 that said data centre would in fact be larger than first imagined, occupying some 5,000 square metres of space. With construction now in its advanced stages, the data centre is set to come online by the end of the second quarter of 2014. “There are three core aims that we have when it comes to the development of our business in the coming months and years,” Kawashima states. “The first revolves around bringing in new services, such as the NTT Enterprise Cloud service, which are tailored directly towards the ever-changing needs of both our existing and future customer. The second meanwhile is focused on bringing our data centre into operation as a means of attracting investment into Thailand from abroad, while the third aim has been dubbed ‘Thailand+1’, which is all about expanding our geographic footprint outside of our home nation into other countries within the Mekong region.” Key projects recently undertaken include the launching of NTT Communications offices in Yangon, Myanmar, Vientienne, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the last few years, as well as bringing ISP services into the said countries. “These are among the countries that we anticipate becoming more important in attracting Thai business in the years to come,” Kawashima says. “We want to create
something of a synergy between our country and those in the Mekong region and thus it is very much part of our strategy to introduce IT services across it, particularly in Myanmar, where we have had some very positive talks with Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT) about future opportunities.” Clearly Kawashima has huge confidence that Thailand and the Great Mekong region will continue to go from strength to strength. “We are extremely excited about what is going on in this part of the world,” he concludes. “It is in part because of our confidence in the market that we have been able to carefully and clearly set out our ambitions for the future. These clearly focus on increasing our capacity through the creation of the new data centre, improving our product range and introducing new services such as storage and data migration offerings. While we will continue to pursue geographic expansion, we will also remain true to our commitment to increasing our local presence and reach in the fast growing market that is Thailand.” For more information about NTT Communications visit: www.th.ntt.com
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106 | BE Monthly
Perseus Mining
Born to seek gold
Perseus was born to DanaĂŤ after Zeus came to her in the form of a golden shower: auspicious for Perseus Mining as it continues to focus on under-explored gold assets in West Africa
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Robbie Hodgson
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Molten gold in crucibles following a gold pour at Perseus Mining’s Edikan Gold Mine
Perseus Mining
P
erseus Mining Limited is a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and based in Perth; however despite its Australian accent it is an African specialist, specifically focused on the gold producing countries of West Africa. Over the years it has forged a reputation as one of the world’s most successful gold explorers, with a quarter of a century of involvement in Ghana and its neighbours coming into fruition very recently, starting commercial production on 1 January 2012. : as one of its founders Mark Calderwood has described it, Perseus Mining is an overnight success that was 25 years in the making! Calderwood, the current chairman Reg Gillard and executive director Colin Carson have been taking an active interest in the under-explored mineral deposits of West Africa for that long, but it was not until 2004 that, having secured a couple of gold bearing deposits in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and the Kyrgyz Republic that they formed a company and floated it on the ASX. Despite a couple of years of quiescence while world markets were depressed progress has been steady since then. In 2006 Perseus acquired the tenements that today host its Edikan Gold Mine formerly known as the Central Ashanti Gold Project (CAGP) and Ayanfuri, though exploration and feasibility work could not really get under way till 2009. By 2010 though the company had successfully recapitalised, obtained a positive full feasibility study and started to build its flagship project, the Edikan mine in Ghana’s rich Ashanti gold belt.
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Perseus Mining
SKY LIMIT STRUCTURE BUILDERS LTD Sky Structure Builders Ltd. and Equipment Rentals can be described ad “the specialist of the extraordinary’. We strive to make your experience using Sky Limit dependable, efficient and satisfying; making customer satisfaction our virtue. Our name says it all; we’re into Equipment Rentals and Commercial & Residential Construction. Equipment Our fleet consists of: Cranes (500Tons30tons), Forklifts (28Tons – 2.5Tons), Telescopic Forklifts (5Tons), Reach Stackers (45Tons), Trucks mounted with hydraulic cranes, Tower Cranes, Low Loaders, Low Beds, Back Hoe, Excavators, Bulldozers , Cherry Pickers, Generators, Water Pumps, Tower Lights, just to name a few. Construction Perfection, by definition, is unattainable but by its very nature, worth pursuing. Throughout Sky Limit’s history and preceding, we’ve had a strong background in Commercial & Residential construction. We have pursued perfection in our buildings, our relationships and our conduct across the countless communities in which we live and
work. Its is something we aspire to on a daily basis. How we reach for this lofty goal is what sets us apart, it’s what makes us different. It’s our unwavering commitment in our pursuit of building perfection. Sky Limit’s Success = Its’ Spirit Enterprise Our Mission Because of our permanent focus on the future, we have a highly skilled multilingual crew and very advanced & dependable equipment to satisfy the often “extra ordinary” needs of our customers. Availability, dependability, accessibility, rapid/ on-time delivery and response are just part of making our work unique and special. With the opening of borders, we expanded from Ghana into the West African market with a lot of self-confidence. It brought our company explosive growth, extending our services into neighboring countries. Prevention and security are priorities to Sky Limit, we’d better be safe than sorry when it comes to personnel injuries and damages to material or our environment. Sky Limit has set the example for its competitors and still takes the leading position in this field. Our vision and expertise are what make Sky Limit a successful fully indigenous company, evolving into an international company. We build our future on the foundation of a rich past. We are now an outstanding West African market player in construction and equipment rentals. E. info@skylimitsb.com www.skylimitsb.com
BE Monthly | 111
WEIR MINERALS WEST AFRICA LIMITED Weir Minerals are specialists in delivering and supporting slurry equipment solutions including pumps, hydrocyclones, valves, screen machines and screen media, rubber and wear resistant linings for global mining and mineral processing, the power sector and general industry. Our products strength lies in the superiority of our hydraulic designs and wear and corrosion and abrasion resistant materials. In slurry pumping, processing and control applications where the cost of ownership often outweighs capital cost as a priority, we help our customers address such issues as longevity, capacity, efficiency of operation, and maintenance. We partner with our clients to understand their need for specific equipment, in order to supply the most efficient equipment for their operations. Weir Minerals has been committed to delivering market-leading services and products. Our whole product and process solutions are designed to meet both the commercial and technical challenges of customers operating within the global mining and minerals processing industry. Weir Minerals delivers end-to-end solutions for all transportation, waste management, processing and mining activities. With over 13 years’ experience in Ghana and across West Africa, we have been excellent partners in mineral processing across the West African sub-region. www.weirminerals.com
112 | BE Monthly
Perseus Mining
A view of the Edikan plant and conveyor belt
It was just before the start of project development that Jeff Quartermaine joined the team as CFO. Up till then, he says, the company had been brought forward by a team whose main expertise lay in exploration and business development – and they were good at it, having grown the resource from about 130,000 ounces of gold at the time of
acquisition to almost eight million ounces today. But they were not blind to the fact that along the development curve different skills are needed. In 2011, shortly before Edikan went into commercial production, the team was joined by Jon Yelland as Chief Operating Officer and in February 2013 Quartermaine succeeded Mark Calderwood
“In three years we have come from being a junior to a fully integrated mid-tier gold producer” BE Monthly | 113
Telephone: +233 24 410 2524; +233 20 126 5124; +233 20 811 7058 Email:admin@newgiftventures.com; ikofintiri@newgiftventures.com www.newgiftventures.com
TIMELY SOLUTIONS THROUGH MINING SUPPORT SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES: • Supply Equipment for mining activities. • Construction and maintenance of Haul roads and mining site access roads. • Construction of Tailings Dam. • Construction and maintenance of Mining Site Offices, Workshops and Residential accommodation. • Security Fencing construction and maintenance. • Stabilization of clayey lateritic soil with Claycrete Stabilizer Solution. • Kleenoil Filtration for Fuels and Engine oils.
PERSEUS Mining MINING Perseus Mining feature tempor incididunt ut labore as Perseus Managing Director and et dolore magna aliqua. Ut CEO. years we have text “In to three go here... Lorem enim ad minim veniam, quis come being asit junior to a ipsumfrom dolor amet, fully integrated mid-tier gold nostrud exercitation ullamco consectetur adipisicing elit, laboris nisi ut aliquip ex producer,” he says. tempor sed do eiusmod incididunt ut labore et dolore The new boss certainly ea commodo consequat. magna aliqua. enim ad does not regretUt accepting Duis aute irure dolor in minim veniam, quis nostrud Gillard’s invitation to come on reprehenderit in voluptate exercitation ullamco board. “We have comelaboris a long velit esse cillum dolore nisi ut ea years, commodo way inaliquip the lastex few and eu fugiat nulla pariatur. consequat. Duis aute ofirure my initial assessment the Excepteur sint occaecat this is aManager, caption Michael cupidatat non sunt people Perseus turned dolor behind in reprehenderit in This is a caption Environment Sackey, onproident, the revegetated main embankment of the qui tailings storage facility out dead right it is acillum firstin culpa officia deserunt voluptate velit –esse rate team. thing Perseus dolore eu One fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur produce 51,000 ounces ofadipisicing gold in Q4elit, at has without exception to alwayssunt try to sint done occaecat cupidatat nonisproident, in deliver culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id an sed all-in do esse epteur occaecat non site cost sint of $1,060 ancupidatat ounce, well to on its promises.” This despite some est laborum. ipsum dolor amet, below proident, in culpa qui officia deserunt thesunt industry average. The first three problems withLorem the processing plantsit towards consectetur elit, sed domanaged eiusmod months mollit anim id est laborum. the end of adipisicing 2012: the mine still of this year were a record quarter,
NEWGIFT VENTURES LIMITED Newgift Ventures Limited has since May 2011 been providing mining support services such as supply of heavy equipment for the construction of tailings dam, haul roads and access roads to Perseus Mining Limited and
other mining companies in Ghana. We also undertake the construction and maintenance of security fencing, site offices, workshops and site residential accommodation. With our desire to provide prompt and customer tailored mining support services, Newgift Ventures Limited has transformed from a sole proprietor enterprise, beating the stiff competition in the industry to become a major mining support service company. Newgift Ventures Limited has as an annual turnover of about USD 10 million. E. admin@newgiftventures.com www.newgiftventures.com
BE WEEKLY| |1172 BE Monthly
GRACO ENGINEERING LIMITED Complete Solutions for low voltage electrical systems
We provide electro-technical Services, Sales and Support for residential, commercial, telecommunication and manufacturing facilities. To ensure the adaptation of the highest standards in the execution of projects and supplies, at reasonable and affordable costs.
Telephone: +233 277406628, +233 243670778, +233 302935382 and +233 312098781 Email: ncommey@gracoengineering.com, info@gracoengineering.com www.gracoengineering.com
Perseus Mining continuing remediation work Graco Engineering Limited on the plant notwithstanding. Graco Engineering Limited has been operating in these The mine has continued to areas for the past years; produce well in the difficult • Panel building and supply of accessories. trading conditions that have • Installation and commissioning of capacitor banks and notoriously hit the gold other power electronic component for power management. market during the second • Customized control systems for Millers, Extruders, Compressors, Crushers, etc for the Mines and other. quarter of 2013, with the Industrial Facilities. plunge in gold prices since • Sales and Supply of Mennekes Industrial Plugs and our last report on Perseus in Sockets. March. •S ales of industrial control components i.e. Circuit With prices beginning to Breakers, Contactors, Relays, etc from leading European rise already and industry brands like Schneider Electric, Siemens, ABB, EATON, watchers predicting a ORTEA, etc. • Sales of Electrical fixtures and Installation Accessories. recovery to last year’s record www.gracoengineering.com levels and beyond when the mechanisms for gold price discovery are placed on a more realistic footing, prospects for the rest of the year are good. As it stands, Edikan managed to produce a total of 104,744 ounces in the six months ended 30 June 2013, which was in line with its target. “With the recent strengthening of our operating management ranks at Edikan and a very sharp focus on cost efficient production, we are well placed to undertake the task of restoring market confidence in our ability to consistently
“we are confident in our ability to produce profitable ounces of gold”
Molten gold being poured
BE Monthly | 119
WE’LL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. Market leaders in heavy lifting equipment sales, rental and aftermarket care in West Africa.
T: +44 1273 625969 | sales@patersonsimons.com | www.patersonsimons.com
PERSEUS Perseus MINING Mining Perseus Miningounces feature consectetur adipisicing elit, produce profitable of text tosays goQuartermaine. here..... Lorem sed do eiusmod tempor gold,” incididunt ut labore et dolore ipsum sit Africa amet, Ghana,dolor and West magna aliqua. Ut enim ad consectetur adipisicing elit, generally, is not such a risky minim veniam, quis nostrud sed do eiusmod tempor place to do mining business incididunt labore imagine. et dolore exercitation ullamco laboris in as youutmight magna aliqua. Ut enim nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo “We have worked hard ad to minim veniam, quis with nostrud consequat. Duis aute irure forge good relations the exercitation dolor in reprehenderit in government ullamco and ourlaboris host nisi ut aliquip exbut ea commodo voluptate velit esse cillum communities, I think it consequat. Duis autepeople irure dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. is interesting when sint occaecat dolor in the reprehenderit talk about political risk in of This is a caption this is a caption Excepteur View of the pit at Edikan Mine cupidatat non proident, sunt voluptate velit esse mining in Africa: I don’tcillum think qui officia id dolore fugiat nulla higher pariatur. Excepteur the riskseuare that much than in many in he culpa suggests, makes deserunt Perseus’smollit base anim country laborum. Lorem ipsum environment dolor sit amet, sint nonorproident, sunt est otheroccaecat regions.”cupidatat The MRRT super profits as challenging a business as in qui officia deseruntfrom mollit anim id consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do taxculpa introduced in Australia July 2012, any, and Ghana in particular haseiusmod a very est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
PATERSON SIMONS Paterson Simons are a UK based company with subsidiaries throughout West Africa. We are market leaders in the sale, rental and aftermarket care of heavy lifting equipment throughout the region. Our newly built parts warehouse in Accra provides original parts and advice, as well as swift sourcing at a moment’s notice. We also offer full service and maintenance contracts, which mean our customers can rely on their lifting equipment to work where and when it has to. We provide mining companies throughout the region with turn-key crane solutions across their mine’s operations. We begin by making sitespecific recommendations around a customer’s lifting requirements. Our on-site engineers will then issue a comprehensive assessment to mine management on their mobile cranes, overhead cranes, telehandlers, forklifts and container
handling equipment needs including the siteing of hard standing areas for critical maintenance lifts. We will also assess and recommend any refurbishment of existing lifting equipment. As West Africa’s Grove dealership we will then go on to supply the entire mine’s required mobile (Grove) and overhead cranes (Konecranes) and rigging gear. Our team of safety inspectors, trainers and engineers additionally provide: • Assessment, training and certification of operators • Maintenance and periodic inspections of equipment • Annual certification of lifting equipment • Assessment, training and certification of riggers and rigging gear • Assessment and training of supervisors and key managers. T. +44 1273 625969 www.patersonsimons.com
BE WEEKLY| |1212 BE Monthly
Technodraft & ENGINEERI N G Quality and safety are the hallmarks of Technodraft. Try us and we shall deliver.
Contact T: +233 246 220 874 E: techno.draft@yahoo.com
Seen When professional and safe logistics are required
Email: contact@stlsgh.com, ghass@stlsgh.com Tel: +233 208 206957 Cell: +233-244-310180 STLSGH is a Ghanaian transport company that is specialised in handling and disposing of hazardous & none hazardous chemicals
Contact us today and put your company in the spotlight!
vincent@bus-ex.com
Perseus Mining forward-looking regime when it comes to co-operation with Technodraft are specialists when it comes to steel works the mining companies. design and the detailing of steel structures used across In reciprocation Perseus various civil projects. Technodraft’s team of highly has been assiduous in doing experienced technicians are experts in constructing the right thing by the host minor turn key projects that meet and exceed a client’s country. Because Ghana technical specification standards. These technicians also work to ensure that the highest levels of quality and safety has a longer history of are maintained during all tasks that take place on-site. mining than many other Technodraft also supplies major construction firms with a countries, it suffered more number of other support services. when the mining boom On behalf of Perseus Mining, Technodraft is carrying out hit South Africa and other a range of vital tasks including steel works, civil works, countries on the continent painting and the erection of steel pre-fabricated buildings and all round the world. Its and laboratories. techno.draft@yahoo.com best brains were drained, tempted by the high salaries being offered. This created a shortage of experienced professionals back home, and Perseus is trying to redress this by actively trying to recruit Ghanaians from the diaspora into senior jobs. Of course it would be unrealistic to seek experienced personnel in the surrounding community, so it is remarkable to learn that approximately 50 per cent of the workforce at Edikan is drawn from the five villages nearest the mine. “We could have drawn staff from mining operations elsewhere in Ghana,”
Technodraft
170,000 ounces
Projected annual yield from Sissingué Water quality monitoring at Edikan Mine
BE Monthly | 123
MULTI VENTURES LIMITED GENERAL MERCHANTS • CONSTRUCTION WORKS • HIRING OF HEAVY DUTY EQUIPMENTS & PLANTS • PROCUREMENT • PHARMACY • CONSULTANCY SERVICES
We engage in wide range of operations including Building and Road construction, Transport Haulage services, hiring of equipments, Catering Services, Car Rentals, Procurement and general civil engineering works. P O Box 100 - Bibiani, Box 1818 - Kumasi Telephone: 03221- 99949, 024-4624417 | E-mail: ffjk2010@hotmail.com
K. NYAME MULTI VENTURES
HIRING OF HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS & EQUIPMENTS • SAND • CAR RENTALS • PROCUREMENT GENERAL CONSTRUCTIONAL WORKS • CATERING SERVICES • CONSULTANCY SERVICE ETC
We engage in wide range of operations including Building and Road construction, Transport Haulage services, hiring of equipments, Catering Services, Car Rentals, Procurement and general civil engineering works. P O Box 100 - Bibiani, Box 1818 - Kumasi Telephone: 03221- 99949, 024-4624417 | E-mail: ffjk2010@hotmail.com
Perseus Mining
Staff onsite at the Edikan Gold Mine
“Exploration of both Kanadi and Bélé will be followed up as a matter of priority by our exploration team” says Quartermaine, “but we decided that while recruiting locally meant we’d have to spend more on training, it would put money into the local community and increase their engagement with the operation.” Training local people from scratch has the added advantage that they understand how Perseus operates, he adds. “We went out and did aptitude tests to identify who would be best suited to the challenge of working in
our operation. I was fortunate to be on site the day the first trainees arrived and had the honour of welcoming them to the site.” There were around a hundred young men and women, he says, all mightily enthused at the opportunity to become a part of a serious operation within their own community and at having the chance to learn new skills. Quartermaine believes the best way to generate sustainability is through education
BE Monthly | 125
LEADING THE ADVANCEMENT OF CUTTING AND GAS CONTROL SOLUTIONS WA R R
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ADVANCED DESIGN | OUTSTANDING FLOW PERFORMANCE | UNSURPASSED SAFETY
CIGWELD WELDING, CUTTING AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT HIGH QUALITY FOR TOUGH CONDITIONS
AUTHORISED DISTRIBUTOR FOR GHANA TAKORADI GAS LTD • P.O. BOX 1050 • TAKORADI, GHANA
Website: www.takoradigas.com Email: tgl@tglgh.com
Tel: 031-202-1159/ 202-1167 • Hot Lines: 0244 330 594 / 0244 354 394 / 0240 777 575 / 0244 479 142
PERSEUS Perseus MINING Mining Perseus Miningpeople feature tempor incididunt ut labore because it equips to et dolore magna aliqua. Ut make ownhere....Lorem choices. Over text their to go enim ad minim veniam, quis the last dolor two years ipsum sit Perseus amet, has sponsored 90 students at nostrud exercitation ullamco consectetur adipisicing elit, laboris nisi ut aliquip ex Kumasi sed do Technical eiusmod Institute tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore (KTI), instituted a scholarship ea commodo consequat. magna Ut enim ad scheme aliqua. for students in the Duis aute irure dolor in minim quis nostrud Edikanveniam, communities to reprehenderit in voluptate exercitation laboris further theirullamco education in velit esse cillum dolore nisi ut aliquip commodo second and ex in ea the future, eu fugiat nulla pariatur. consequat. Duis auteinirure tertiary institutions the Excepteur sint occaecat dolor reprehenderit countryin and announced in a This is a caption this is a caption cupidatat non proident, sunt A view the Edikan plant in culpa qui of officia deserunt voluptate esse cillum six-month velit apprenticeship dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor programme to train 120 amet, consectetur elit,process sed do young people incupidatat masonry, non carpentry, electrical promised, or at least adipisicing planned. The sint occaecat proident, sunt sit in culpa quiand officia deserunt mollit anim id eiusmod incididunt ut labore et dolore installation plumbing. plant willtempor be upgraded to increase throughput estMeanwhile laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Ut enim veniam, quis his objectives for this year magna from itsaliqua. present level ad of minim 5.5 million tonnes consectetur adipisicing dohas eiusmod exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut remain firmly to deliverelit, on sed what been nostrud per annum to eight million tonnes per annum
TAKORADI GAS LTD Takoradi Gas Ltd (TGL) a company in the business of manufacture and distribution of high quality industrial gases. TGL was incorporated in 1994 and has been in operation since then as a successful, dependable quality conscious manufacturer of industrial gases with its manufacturing facility in Takoradi and distribution depots in major regions. TGL is one of the biggest industrial gas manufacturers in Ghana. TGL supplies industrial gases to a wide variety of industries providing vital support for Ghana’s industrial base and development. Our ONE STOP SHOP offers total solutions to all Welding & Cutting Industry needs. Under ONE STOP SHOP, we offer • Industrial Gases (Oxygen, Acetylene, Nitrogen,
Argon, Mix gases, Co2, Helium, LPG etc) • Quality imported Refrigerant Gases (Freon) European brands/ TGL brand • Welding Consumables (all types of Electrodes) from HILCO, Holland (Authorized distributor in Ghana) • Welding & Cutting Accessories from Cigweld Australia, Victor Technologies,US. TGL is the Authorized Distributor for Cigweld (Australia) and Victor Technologies (US) for all welding & cutting accessories. Perseus Mining is exclusively working with Takoradi Gas Ltd since the beginning of their operations in Ghana. We are proud to be associated with Perseus Mining Ltd. www.takoradigas.com
BE WEEKLY| 127 |2 BE Monthly
NEW PRECIOUS RESOURCE DISCOVERED
Click here to visit our dedicated homepage for the mining community www.bus-ex.com/mining BEST PRACTICE IN MINING
Perseus Mining
Edikan plant staff
by July 2013. From that point he expects Any spare energy is being diverted to the gold production to go forward at a rate of Sissingué Gold Project in north-east Côte some 250,000 ounces a year, with costs kept d’Ivoire. Only perhaps 300 miles apart, they low so that the company can generate a are very different. If Ghana is switched on substantial cash margin. Gold prices may to its resources, its neighbour has less of a be past their peak, but following this policy mining tradition though Quartermaine thinks will keep Perseus in business where high cost it could vastly benefit from development. producers crash out, benefiting proportionally Following a very difficult and unsettled era, when prices rally. the country is now working With the world class very hard to upgrade its Edikan mine at full throttle, mining code so it presents a the subsidiary property in more attractive investment than its neighbours. But late the Ashanti belt, Grumesa 20 kilometres to the east, is last year, when the Perseus Students sponsored at taking a back seat though board was preparing to give KTI in two years the green light to construction drilling continues there.
90
BE Monthly | 129
EDERICK LIMITED Ederick Limited is the manufacturer’s representative for Whirlpool home appliances and also sole agents for Taurus, Candy Hoover, EDK and also distributes some electronic appliances for Sony and Panasonic. Some of the appliances that we specialise in include air conditioning units, refrigerators, chest freezers, washing machines, tumble dryers, cookers, microwaves, ovens, hoods, extractors, dishwashers, home entertainment systems, LED & LCD TV’s, blenders, irons, kettles, toasters, rice cookers - to name but a few. Ederick Limited is proud to be associated with many of the mining companies in Ghana including Perseus Mining where we do substantial business. We offer all the solutions to the mining industry’s procurement and service challenges to enable them concentrate on their core business and to maximise their profits. Ederick Limited’s client base includes diplomatic missions, manufacturing companies,
hotels, restaurants & holiday resorts, government agencies, non- governmental organisations and individuals. Over 27 years of quality experience has made Ederick Limited one of the leading home appliance companies in Ghana. We pride ourselves in protecting our environment by ensuring that all our appliances are 100% compliant to energy efficient standards and also supply nothing short of top quality merchandise to our customers. Needless to say, we have the most competitive prices which make our appliances very attractive and affordable. Ederick Limited’s warehouses (including bonded) are dotted around Accra and Kumasi (Takoradi and Tamale coming up soon) to ensure that we always meet and exceed demand to supply our appliances. We offer free delivery of all purchased appliances within the Accra & Tema metropolis and also in Kumasi. All our appliances come with a 12 month warranty on manufacturer’s defects. Our showrooms have service centres attached to them which are equipped with diagnostic facilities and also stock spare parts for repair work to ensure that all parts needed for after sales services are readily available. Our on-site service centres at all our locations ensures that all our customers have the after-sales support they require in maintaining/servicing or repairing all appliances – we also offer service contracts with various institutions for the maintenance of all their office appliances. In an economy like what we have in Ghana, customers expect to have peace of mind with their purchases of home appliances and that is what Ederick Limited represents absolute peace of mind! www.ederickltd.com
130 | BE Monthly
Perseus Mining
A bar of gold being weighed
of the fully permitted and funded Sissingué project, the Ivorian government started to talk about a super profits tax. While not denying their need to benefit from their resources, developing governments sometimes overlook the need of overseas investors to see a fair
return. So Perseus along with the rest of the world’s mining community is waiting to see what the awaited mining code will contain. However Sissingué is projected to yield 170,000 ounces of gold a year, at low cost. Adding this project to Edikan would firmly establish Perseus among the
“Adding thE Sissingué project to Edikan would firmly establish Perseus among the leading West African gold producers” BE Monthly | 131
Gold Room Operator cleans slag residue from a bar of gold
Perseus Mining leading West African gold producers. And there has been positive news since we last looked at Sissingué. Quartermaine is keen to proceed with building the $160 million (fully funded) mine this year with a view to starting production in the second half of 2014, gold prices notwithstanding – he says the price would have to fall many hundreds of dollars below current levels to cause problems to Perseus. Meanwhile the company has been actively pressing forward with other drilling prospects that it hopes will sustain production in West Africa well beyond the 20 year mine life of Edikan. It has just announced encouraging results from recent exploration in Côte d’Ivoire. Its Mbengué tenement is close to the country’s largest known gold deposit and significant mineralisation has been discovered there. Additionally early drilling at Bélé has been highly encouraging, he says: “Exploration of both Kanadi [on the Mbengué permit] and Bélé will be followed up as a matter of priority by our exploration team, as both tenements are located within trucking distance of the proposed Sissingué Gold Mine plant site. While it is still early days at both Mbengué and Mahalé these drill results appear to be very material, and if the prospects can be advanced with further drilling, it could create significant value for our shareholders.” For more information about Perseus Mining visit: www.perseusmining.com
BE Monthly | 133
A gold producer
delivering gro
A growing portfolio of gold assets in West Africa, with th mines, a fourth nearing completion and promising devel
written by: John O’Hanlon | research by: Adam Kalynu
134 | BE Monthly
Endeavour Mining
owth
hree producing lopment projects
uk
BE Monthly | 135
Underground mining at Endeavour’s Tabakoto Gold Mine
Endeavour Mining
E
very person involved in gold open pit operation that employs contractor mining or trading must have mining and is located 280 kilometres to been shaken when the gold price the south east of Ouagadougou in Burkina slumped in mid April, so it’s Faso. It is 90 percent owned by Endeavour, reassuring to hear that one well- with the remaining 10 percent held by respected investor, the Canadian financier, the Burkina Faso government. Grid power Frank Giustra, said recently that he has is delivered to site from Ghana via a 21 complete faith in the continuation of the bull kilometre transmission line. Earlier this run. When it comes to investment Giustra has year Endeavour completed a preliminary been so right for so long that it’s encouraging economic assessment on the Ouaré deposit to know he is on Endeavour Mining’s Strategic 40 kilometres to the north east to explore Advisory Board. the economics of trucking the Ouaré Endeavour Mining was founded in 2008 material to the Youga plant, in the process by Neil Woodyer, who until then had adding three years to the current six year been a partner with Frank projected life of the mine. In late 2011, following Giustra in the merchant a merger with Perth bank Endeavour Financial. When cold winds started to based Adamus Resources, blow through the financial Endeavour added the Nzema mine, an open pit project markets and the world’s great currency blocs all went located in south western into meltdown gold started Ghana, just a couple of Endeavour’s 2013 to look even more attractive hundred kilometres from capital programme to investors. Why not the capital Accra, which is actually build a gold mining where Endeavour has chosen company, Woodyer asked himself – so he to establish its operational headquarters. did just that, acquiring a series of highly The Accra office is the base for the productive or prospective assets in West company’s COO Attie Roux and all HR, Africa, all of them in financial difficulty. finance, exploration, purchasing and other The initial acquisition search in 2009 key management functions. The company brought in the Youga gold mine when holds a 90 percent interest at Nzema, with Endeavour took control of a financially the remainder being in the hands of the struggling Canadian company, Etruscan Ghana government. In 2012 Nzema yielded Resources, buying the remaining shares the nearly 110,000 ounces of gold from ore following year. By the end of 2011 Youga processed through a conventional gravity was producing over 87,000 ounces of gold a carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold plant with a year. In 2012 that figure rose to over 91,000 semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill, a ounces. Youga is a hard rock, drill and blast gravity circuit, and two counter current
$180
million
BE Monthly | 137
decant thickeners for water and cyanide recovery. The mill has a design capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per annum. In October 2012, Woodyer spotted another opportunity, this time in Mali, and acquired the assets of another distressed gold mining company, Avion Gold, for $389 million. An observer might think it risky to engage in a country which has so recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It’s true that Avion had been hurt by the political uncertainty, in particular the contractor building an expansion of the Tabakoto mill withdrawing following a Canadian government advisory notice. However Tabakoto is only 18 kilometres from the border with Senegal and some 1,000 kilometres away from the problem area in Northern Mali, and thus the mine’s production was not affected by the coup or its aftermath. Tabakoto is 80 percent owned by Endeavour, 20 percent by the government of Mali, and its current open pit and single underground mine produced over 110,000 ounces of gold in 2012. A doubling of the mill capacity at Tabakoto from 2,000 tonnes per day (tpd) to 4,000 has just been achieved, in anticipation of the completion of a second underground mine at Segala, just five kilometres away. This part of Mali could
be very important for Endeavour over the coming decade – another nearby 470 square kilometre property at Kofi 40 kilometres to the north of Tabakoto contains resources estimated at 1.2 million ounces. So Endeavour is definitely a company
“Agbaou should, together with the recently completed Tabakoto mill expansion, raise our annual gold production to 450,000 in 2014” 138 | BE Monthly
Endeavour Mining
Tabakoto Gold Mine mill expansion is ramping up
that has moved fast thus far. It has three producing mines in three different countries. “We are going though a phase of considerable growth,” says Woodyer. “We put together our three mines over the last three or four years by acquisition. We had to digest those acquisitions, sort them out financially because they were all troubled companies that we took over and then address some of their associated management problems.” As an example, he says Tabakoto was producing its gold alright, but at an unsustainably high cost – around $1,250 an ounce. It was
over-staffed with around 1,900 people. In six months headcount has come down by 450, and in the last quarter its cost of production was cut to $932 an ounce. The mill expansion has already been completed and production is being ramped up to around 150,000 ounces a year. And Endeavour’s impetus is far from spent. Next year will see the start of production at its most advanced development project, a fourth mine in a fourth West African country – Côte d’Ivoire. Agbaou is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in that country and has significant upside
BE Monthly | 139
potential that was targeted through a $6 million exploration programme in 2012. Construction of the mine started in 2012, using the same team that developed Nzema, including the Australian EPCM company Lycopodium. “Agbaou should produce just below 100,000 ounces next year at relatively low cost, so it should bring our average cost base down and at the same time, together with the recently completed Tabakoto mill expansion, raise our annual gold production from around 330,000 ounces currently to 450,000 in 2014, with very positive cash generation as well,” says Woodyer.
The distribution of the projects makes a lot of sense. If there are problems at one mine, the others are there to fall back on and thus Endeavour is protected from the troubles that affected the single-mine companies it took over. Neil Woodyer’s long and extensive involvement in the market means that financial risk is minimised. Endeavour’s experienced mine operators and mine builders ensure that operational risk is well-managed. As former CEO of Lloyds International Trading before running his own merchant bank he is uniquely qualified to steer a gold production company
Youga Gold Mine: primary crusher and crushed ore stockpile
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“We are in a good position now to meet our target of 330,000 ounces this year and 450,000 next!” at a time when gold futures are anyone’s guess. “We have a $200 million credit facility that we have to start paying back in about 18 months. I am in the process of trying to increase that facility and extend it to give us more flexibility,” he explains.
“We may want to spend some capital on our existing operations and fine tune them to get better economic value out of them. I am making sure we have the financial flexibility to optimise the return without having to dilute the shareholding.” Until things get a bit more predictable, Endeavour has throttled back its exploration drilling while keeping the core drilling going that will extend existing operations. Operationally, synergies have been pursued and a raft of best practices, from common purchasing to pooling of resources introduced. For example excess inventory of chemicals like cyanide at Nzema will be sent to Côte d’Ivoire so that Agbaou will have less to buy when it starts up. Agbaou is a $160 million project and is progressing remarkably well, he says, though cautiously. The mine is already 75 percent complete, and long lead-time items are on their way in plenty of time for the projected start of gold production in the first quarter of 2014 thanks to Lycopodium as the EPCM contractor and the in-house team: “It is really impressive the speed and skill that this team has delivered – we are in a good position now to meet our target of 330,000 ounces this year and 450,000 next!” It was an inspiration to run the operations
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Tabakoto Gold Mine: Segala portal for second underground mine (under development)
Endeavour Mining
4,000 tpd Upgraded capacity of Tabakoto mill from Accra. Ghana is the most stable and settled mining country in West Africa, but that means that an individual incoming investor can’t have that much influence on government policy. Côte d’Ivoire is at the other extreme, he thinks, a country hungry for mining development and in which Endeavour is seen as a major investor whereas Burkina Faso is the ideal West Africa economy for a new mining project, with well developed mining laws and an economic framework that encourages foreign investment. There’s no denying these are anxious times for gold producers, unlike a year ago. Endeavour is committed to a large capital programme this year – something like $180 million – but he is convinced the entire gold sector is undervalued, and with it the market value of gold producers. If Neil Woodyer and Frank Giustra are right then Endeavour stands to reap great rewards. Meanwhile it can only do the next right thing: “If we can optimise our three mines and build and commission the Agbaou mine we can end the year with the financial stability we need - and I have a great team to help me do that.” For more information about Endeavour Mining visit: www.endeavourmining.com
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Mwana Africa
Daring to discover the DRC Mwana Africa is a diversified, AIM-listed mining company with an exciting and diverse portfolio of exploration and production projects spread across a number of African countries: in the coming year it hopes to establish its major zinc assets onto the global map
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Jeff Abbott
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wana Africa was founded by Kalaa Mpinga, a citizen of the DRC, a former senior executive of Bechtel, and a director of Anglo American before launching Mwana Africa Holdings in 2003. Two years later he and a group of partners across Africa were in a position to float Mwana Africa PLC on the prestigious AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The company brought together three major acquisitions that positioned it from the start as a diverse player on the African mining scene. These were the Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) in Zimbabwe, the Anmercosa base metal exploration project in DRC and the Freda Rebecca gold mine, again in Zimbabwe. Today its portfolio includes assets in Angola, Botswana and South Africa as well as the DRC and Zimbabwe It’s a very sound collection of assets, with massive potential in a number of key minerals over the coming decade. However the years that intervened between its establishment and the present have presented their fair share of challenges, Zimbabwe in particular has not been an easy place to work in, and the Bindura nickel complex had to be placed on ‘care and maintenance’ in 2009, thanks to a slump in world nickel prices, added to that country’s fiscal problems and hyperinflation. Having operated continuously for more than 17 years the Freda Rebecca Gold Mine (FRGM) went through a similar process in March 2007 and for similar reasons, though in this case it provided more of a planned opportunity to refurbish the mine and re-provide it with a better fleet of trucks and
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Mwana Africa
other equipment. Operations were restarted before the end of that year, in the wake of the ‘dollarisation’ of the economy, providing much needed cash flow to enable Mwana Africa to pursue its other plans: its first gold was poured on October 13 that year, and production ramped up to the Phase 1 output target of 30,000 ounces of gold per year. So during the financial year that ended on 31 March 2011 the mine produced
27,240 ounces of gold, with 3,574 ounces produced in March alone. The second phase included refurbishment of the second mill and expansion of the leach circuit. In June 2011, Mwana Africa announced that the Phase 2 construction programme was completed with Mill 2 being successfully commissioned on time and within budget. Production for the financial year to 31 March 2012 was 47,770 ounces of gold, within a
“It’s a very sound collection of assets, with massive potential in a number of key minerals over the coming decade” BE Monthly | 147
NEW PRECIOUS RESOURCE DISCOVERED
Click here to visit our dedicated homepage for the mining community www.bus-ex.com/mining BEST PRACTICE IN MINING
Mwana Africa whisper of the extended target of 50,000 ounces. Acol Chemical Holdings (Pvt) Ltd supplies liquid sodium The gold mine and the cyanide to the Gold Mines of Zimbabwe on behalf of Sasol nickel project are both located Polymers a division of Sasol Chemical Industries Limited. in the same part of Zimbabwe, Acol Chemical embarked on a project with Mwana Africa’s around 90 kilometres to the Freda Rebecca Mine in November 2010 to convert the mine north-east of Harare towards from using solid sodium cyanide 99% briquettes to liquid sodium cyanide. the Mozambique border. The Freda Rebecca’s first 30 000 liters of liquid sodium cyanide exploration, development was delivered on 6th April 2011. and production history for The mine experienced immediate operational benefits as a gold in the Bindura area goes direct result from changing to liquid sodium cyanide. back to 1912. The Freda and Acol Chemical now supplies liquid sodium cyanide to the Rebecca gold deposits were majority of the larger gold mines in the country who are all however not discovered until reporting general improvements in operations as a direct result of using liquid. 1987 by the legendary Algy acolhre@acolchem.co.zw Cluff, whose company Cluff Resources established two open pits, removing oxides at Freda and sulphides at Rebecca. The first gold pour took place in 1988. Ashanti Goldfields Zimbabwe acquired the mine in 1996 and underground operations commenced at the Rebecca section in the same year: by 1998, the Freda pit had been depleted and the Freda Rebecca Mine became a fully underground operation. Today Freda Rebecca is providing Mwana Africa with solid cash flow to cover its overheads as well as helping it develop new projects. “We remain confident that Freda Rebecca will continue to be a robust provider of cash flow and revenue,” Mpinga says, “and we are now focussed on expanding production further and introducing operating efficiencies. These will have the effect of further increasing production levels beyond 50,000 ounces per annum while simultaneously reducing operating costs.” However the biggest mining opportunities
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cannot be realised without the support of all stakeholders, including shareholders, government, the local community and offtakers. Just as Freda Rebecca is the largest gold mine in Zimbabwe and an important contributor to the country’s economy, so the Bindura nickel complex could put that country on the map as a nickel producer of. Mwana Africa’s majority owned subsidiary BNC owns and operates the Shangani and Trojan
nickel mines, which each has a hoisting and treatment capacity of around a million tonnes a year. “Bindura Nickel is a very unique asset in that it is the only fully integrated nickel complex in Africa,” says Kalaa Mpinga. It comprises a series of mines, a smelter and a refinery, holding among other assets the Bindura Smelter and Refinery complex which produces high quality nickel cathodes, copper sulphide and cobalt hydroxide.
“Bindura Nickel is a very unique asset in that it is the only fully integrated nickel complex in Africa”
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Alongside material from the Trojan and Shangani mines, the plant has in the past toll treated nickel concentrates and nickel matte from third parties to utilise spare capacity, however following promising results from drilling programmes completed last year it may have less spare capacity once the mines are reopened. In February Mwana Africa announced a massive 152 percent increase in the JORC compliant nickel resource at the Trojan mine. The total nickel resource within this deposit is now 114,952 tonnes compared to the 45,600 tonnes previously known about. There could be much more: drilling confirmed that the ore body is open at depth. Operating conditions have improved, and now that the Zimbabwe economy is starting to grow towards its true potential Mpinga
is very keen to restart the BNC assets in a phased manner. The first phase would be to restart the Trojan mine and to sell nickel in the form of concentrate. BNC announced in February 2011 that it had signed an offtake agreement with Glencore International who will purchase the concentrate produced, and when in September 2012 the company formed a strategic partnership with China International Mining Group Corporation (CIMGC), the principal goal was to restart operations at Bindura, using part of the $35 million raised. “We believe this will allow us to open up the rest of the assets,” says Mpinga, “in particular the Hunters Road project which is one of the biggest open cast nickel deposits today, with access to infrastructure.” He is equally excited about the prospects
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“Zani-Kodo is a large and highly prospective project situated in what is fast becoming a gold province of major world significance” for Mwana Africa in developing the group’s major exploration focus, the Zani-Kodo gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo “Zani-Kodo is a large and highly prospective project situated in what is fast becoming a gold province of major world significance,” he says. A major drilling campaign last year totalling more than 18 kilometres increased the resource by 41 percent to 2.01 million ounces. “With a comprehensive ongoing
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work programme being progressed, we are confident that the project’s JORC resource can be further increased, thereby demonstrating its enormous potential.” Mwana Africa holds 80 percent in the Kilo Moto Joint Venture with Office des Mines d’Or de Kilomoto (Okimo), under the terms of an agreement signed in June 2005, and Mpinga is understandably upbeat about the potential of his native country. “Until last
Mwana Africa
year the DRC did not figure on the list of gold producers,” says Mpinga. “I think the Ituri district is going to be the next frontier.” Ituri, in the north east of DRC, has attracted the attentions of major companies such as AngloGold Ashanti and in the coming three years he expects to see around 800,000 ounces of gold coming from its mines. The infrastructure that will follow will make it less expensive and less risky to develop a mine there, and he would like to see Mwana Africa coming in with gold production in 2015, in the wake of two large projects hoping to start producing in the near future, namely AngloGold and Randgold’s Kibali project and the Mongbwalu mine, under construction by AngloGold on its own. With more promising base metals projects in
the DRC, Mwana Africa promises to soon reach an enviable position as a highly diversified producer underpinned by substantial gold assets. Diversified geographically as well as in terms of the minerals it sells. The DRC may well be considered a high risk area, racked by conflict but nobody knows it better than Kalaa Mpinga, who points out that mining in the Ituri region has gone ahead without incident since 1999 and the Zani-Kodo project is 400 kilometres from current trouble spots. “In that terrain, you may as well be in another continent!” he declares. For more information about Mwana Africa visit: www.mwanaafrica.com
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AngloGold Ashanti
Vision committed to excellence AngloGold Ashanti has come through a difficult year relatively unscathed, and now looks forward to the contribution of at least two major new assets due to come on stream in the latter part of 2013
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Vince Kielty & Robert Hodgson
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Moab Khotsong, South Africa
AngloGold Ashanti
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reated in 2004 through the merger of the Ghana-based Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and the South African AngloGold, AngloGold Ashanti produced a little less than four million ounces of gold in 2012. This was the year that its outgoing CEO Mark Cutifani (having resigned to become CEO of AngloGold Ashanti’s principal shareholder Anglo American he was replaced on May 8th by Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan) described as “undoubtedly one of the most challenging in my 35 years in mining.” Today AngloGold Ashanti is a company that works across the entire gold value chain, from exploration through mining operations and beneficiation – the process of separating the gold from the ore – to marketing the metal to the jewellery trade. More than 60 percent of the gold mined each year is consumed in the gold jewellery sector. While attention tends to be focused on the 21 active mining operations the company has in Africa, Australasia and both North and South America, it has almost 70,000 square kilometres of greenfield tenements where it conducts exploration activities through joint ventures, strategic alliances or as whollyowned ground holdings. Last year alone it increased drilling activity by more than a third over the previous year, testing new highpriority targets in Australia, Brazil, Tanzania, the DRC and the Solomon Islands. This approach has led to the development of AngloGold Ashanti’s first greenfield development in more than a decade. To its successful Sunrise Dam operation in Western Australia, currently undergoing
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METSO_BRANDPR_PMS_pc.pdf
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Our responsible attitude leads to results
Metso Ghana Limited (MG) is a fully owned subsidiary of Metso Corporation with Head Office in Finland. Metso Minerals is the world leader in the supply of Rock & Mineral Process Equipment and has a strong commitment to the industry in West Africa. Our mission is “To Become the Preferred Partner and Supplier of Equipment, Parts and Services to the Local and Multi-National Mining & Construction Companies Operating in Ghana and Western Africa�.
www.metso.com
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Metso Ghana provides the following services to the Ghanaian Mining and Quarrying industry: • Supply of capital equipment. This includes the supply, installation and commissioning of capital mineral processing to the mines and crushing, screening and conveying equipment to the quarries. • Supply of spare parts and aftermarket upgrades and services to support our installed base of equipment. This includes the direct sale of mechanical and electrical spares, wear parts, conveyor belting and other rubber products, grinding mill linings and accessories as well as consignment sale arrangements. • Supply of technical service solutions including: - Maintenance contracts ranging from embedded Metso teams offering life cycles services to periodic and planned shutdown visits. This includes provision of consumables such as mill lining and crusher wear parts on a cost per ton or monthly fixed charge basis. - Spot service—diagnostics, troubleshooting and repairs on crushers, grinding mills and slurry pumps. - Mill lining installation, repairs, wear measurement and life estimation. • Supply of mineral process optimisation services. These include “mine to mill” studies involving the study and optimisation of the entire beneficiation process from fragmentation through to grinding and classification, the supply of automation and computer based expert systems. • Supply of laboratory mineral processing equipment and special tools. • Training in the use of our products and equipment as well as the industry best practise in mineral processing and technology. Metso Ghana covers the whole of Western
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Africa and has 52 employees operating from three locations—Accra in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana and Obuasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Accra serves as the head office while the Tarkwa and Obuasi offices serve as operational bases. In support of our vision, we hold stock in both Obuasi and Tarkwa to enable us support our equipment. Majority of our service offerings is provided by our local service teams while our products are supplied from Metso Minerals manufacturing facilities all over the world. Our clientele includes: • AngloGold Ashanti Limited— Obuasi and Iduapriem, Ghana Sadiola, Mali. • Goldfields Ghana Limited— Tarkwa and Damang, Ghana • Golden Star Resources Limited— Bogosu-Prestea and Wass, Ghana • Perseus Mining, Ghana • Kinross Chirano Gold Mines Limited • IamGold—Essakane, Burkina Faso • Severstal Mining—Taparko, Burkina Faso and SMD Lefa in Guinea • Newmont Ghana Gold Limited— Ahafo and Akyem • ArcelorMittal—Yekepa, Liberia • African Minerals—Sierra Leone • Endeavour Mining— Nzema, Ghana and BMC in Burkina Faso • Kanazoe Quarries—Burkina Faso • Ivoire Granite—Ivory Coast • Medina Rock Crushing--Liberia • Eastern Quarries Ghana Limited • Upper Quarries Ghana Limited • Construction Pioneers • ESM Quarries • Justmoh Construction www.metso.com
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www.atcwilliams.com.au
Tailings Management Impoundment/ Embankment Design Water Managment Geotechnical Investigation Tailings Laboratory Testing
Anglo Gold – Ashanti Sunrise Dam Mine – Western Australia • Tailings site options over LOM • Site investigations • Water balance studies • Water storage design
Closure Design Surveillance Melbourne Ph +61 03 8587 0900 melbourne@atcwilliams.com.au
Perth Ph +61 08 9355 8700 perth@atcwilliams.com.au
Brisbane Ph +61 07 3352 7222 brisbane@atcwilliams.com.au
ANGLO AngloGold GOLD Ashanti ASHANTI transformation Anglo Gold Ashanti from afeature text to combined go here.....Lorem open pit ipsum anddolor sit amet, underground consectetur adipisicing operationelit, to ased do eiusmod wholly underground mineet dolore magna tempor incididunt ut labore aliqua. Ut enim ad to minim quis nostrud it is preparing addveniam, an exercitation laboris exciting newullamco resource. Thenisi ut aliquip ex Tropicana ea commodo Gold consequat. Project (TGP) Duis aute irure dolor is in areprehenderit 70/30 joint venture in voluptate withvelit esse cillum Independence dolore eu fugiatGroup. nulla pariatur. The Excepteur joint sint occaecat venture’scupidatat exploration non proident, sunt programme in culpa quiinofficia the area deserunt is vast, covering mollit anim 13,500 id square est laborum. kilometres Lorem along ipsum a strike dolor length sit of amet, 600 kilometres. consectetur Tropicana, adipisicing elit, to the sednorth do eiusmod of this area, is incididunt in a very remote partetofdolore the state, on tempor ut labore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna the aliqua. western Ut edge enimofad theminim Great Victoria veniam, Desert, quis and nostrud untilexercitation AngloGold Ashanti ullamcoAustralia laboris turned nisi ut up aliquip on the ex ea scene commodo it remained consequat. uninvestigated Duis aute in any significant way. However following irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit
ATC WILLIAMS ATC Williams (ATCW) is a specialist consulting engineering firm providing key tailings and water management services to AngloGold Ashanti, Australia’s Sunrise Dam Gold Mine in Western Australia, as well as to many other Australian and overseas mines. The company has been associated with Sunrise Dam Gold Mine from the conceptual stages in the mid-1990’s and has continued and strengthened that long term relationship with the current owner AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd. ATCW designed the original tailings paddocktype scheme and then in 1999 with an expansion in production, initiated a Central Thickened Discharge (CTD) disposal system, one of the first in Australia at the time. With the introduction of a new thickener, this permitted full storage capacity with only notional embankment volume. Following commissioning of the CTD, the paddock storage was decommissioned and rehabilitated. Since then ATCW has designed and assisted AngloGold Ashanti in undertaking 8 raises (stages) which
have included perimeter embankment raises, and access causeway raises. The current CTD cone is about 6km diameter and rises 25 m. The CTD was also made available for extensive field tests on beach slopes that were undertaken by one of the PhD students who the company sponsored to advance ATCW’s knowledge of tailings beach slopes. Whether in Australia or overseas – ATC Williams is currently working in Chile and Kazakhstan, among others – the company has the conceptual and strategic skills, as well as detail design skills to maximise project success. CEO Trevor Osborne said tailings and water management were the “company’s prime strengths and provide us with a market edge,” he said. “We place great emphasis on understanding the properties of the specific tailings, using our testing laboratory, to fine tune our beach slope predictions and optimise embankment design, and in turn minimise cost.” www.atcwilliams.com.au
BE Monthly BE WEEKLY| |1612
Currently Drilling over
22,000m
per month
Lesedi Drilling and Mining Contracting Company offers competitive and professional drilling services and is recognised as the supplier of choice to the African mining industry. Lesedi provides experienced people, effective machinery and proven systems to safely and economically produce core samples for all underground exploration programmes. Our Drill Fleet Includes: · 220 x Pneumatic core drills (250m AQ capability) · 15 x 22/45Kw Hydraulic drills (300m BQ capability) · 10 x LM 75/90 Hydraulic Drills (1000m NQ Capability)
✆ +27 11 492 3775
| www.lesedi.net
AngloGold Ashanti
Primary transportation of gold bearing ore from the crusher to the heap leach pads
a pre-feasibility study the north-east of the Democratic company was able to declare Republic of Congo. The Kibali a Measured, Indicated and project is currently in the Inferred 75.3 million tonnes development and construction phase, after receiving board resource containing over five Ounces of gold at TGP approval in May 2012. Premillion ounces of gold. Fast forward, and today development work began the Tropicana project is at an advanced in early 2011 and first gold production is stage of construction and development, anticipated in late 2013. Again this is a joint and remains on track to pour first gold in venture, with AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold the fourth quarter of this year. Mining Resources each owning 45 percent, the balance operations will be conducted from open being held by SOKIMO, a DRC state-owned pit mining of the Tropicana and Havanna gold company. “Our major greenfield projects deposits while surface infrastructure includes at Kibali and Tropicana remain within their a processing plant, accommodation facilities broad budget parameters and on track to pour their first gold by around the end of 2013 and and telecommunications services. On the other side of the world, there’s early 2014,” said Mark Cutifani. “This is an another important greenfield operation in the impressive feat in an industry that has in the
5 million
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recent past been marked by significant capital overruns and delays.” As the world’s second largest gold producer AngloGold Ashanti is performing well at a very difficult time for the industry – with gold prices weakening at the beginning of 2013 and the additional challenges posed by strikes that closed a number of mines in the company’s home economy South Africa in the latter part of 2012. Operating profit for the year decreased from $2,202 million in 2011 to $1,127 million in 2012, mainly as a result of reduced gold income due to lower production levels at the South African operations following the strike action. The negative impact of the strikes was offset by two important acquisitions last year. The $335 million purchase of First Uranium, the owner of Mine Waste Solutions, brought with it a recently commissioned tailings retreatment operation located close to the company’s Vaal River tailings facilities in South Africa. The Vaal River and West Wits mines produced 31 percent of the entire group’s gold output or 1.2 million ounces. Reprocessing tailings at this plant is expected to add something like 110,000 ounces to annual production from the South African operations, at competitive cost. Another bonus was pointed out by Chairman
Tito Mboweni: “This acquisition has also rendered unnecessary a substantial capital investment that would have been required to construct a plant to process our other Vaal River tailings.” A further 70,000 ounces should come, he points out, from the $220 million acquisition from its partner Kinross Gold Corporation of its 50 percent interest in the Serra Grande mine in Brazil, giving AngloGold Ashanti full ownership. “The Serra Grande acquisition will enhance our
“The Serra Grande acquisition will enhance our mineral resource and ore reserve as well as diversifying our global portfolio base” 164 | BE Monthly
AngloGold Ashanti
mineral resource and ore reserve as well as diversifying our global portfolio base.” The gold market is one that is full of contradictions. Crudely put, it fluctuates in opposition to the rest of the global economy. The worse the news from the global banking sector the more investors are tempted to put their trust in gold. This paradox was put into its macroeconomic context by Tito Mboweni when he explains: “Continued loose monetary policy in the United States and Europe, with added impetus more recently from Japan, will ensure that real interest rates in these economic blocs will not rise anytime soon. This, in conjunction with continued central bank buying – from mainly non-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – and improved Chinese off-take in the face of stronger economic
prospects from that region, should support the gold price in the medium term.” With other emerging markets (India in particular) improving following tighter economic policy initiatives, local currencies can be expected to strengthen, thereby pushing down the price of gold in local currency terms. This will in turn stimulate jewellery demand and consequently the gold price, he believes. The current dip in the gold price, many market watchers agree, is a temporary one: until confidence returns to the major currencies gold will continue to be a whole lot more stable. For more information about AngloGold Ashanti visit: www.anglogoldashanti.co.za
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Architects of African growth Marketing Manager, Cedric Leturcq talks about BIA’s operations in Africa and its contribution to the development of the continent
written by: Will Daynes research by: Gareth Hardy 166 | BE Monthly
BIA
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BIA
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BIA technician on-site
was in 1902 that a mining engineer by the name of Georges Bia first opened up a sales office in Brussels. It is here that the routes of the BIA Group can be traced back to. Today, 113 years later, BIA exists as a leading international company in the field of machine distribution for the civil engineering and construction industries, with its head offices remaining in Belgium. “It was in 1948 that business for the company really began to take off when Georges Bia’s son, Jacques Bia, established three companies, two distribution companies based in Brussels and the Congo (the BIA Technical Office), and a mechanical repair company in the Congo,” explains Marketing Manager, Cedric Leturcq. BIA would continue to evolve and grow in the subsequent decades, however it was in 1998 that the company’s development began to accelerate dramatically with the company signing an exclusive distribution contract with Komatsu for six French-speaking African countries. By 2003 this figure had grown to 11 and today the company can be found holding exclusivity rights to Komatsu equipment in 15 different nations. It was in 2006 that BIA’s Export Department transformed into BIA, a subsidiary that is today responsible for all of BIA’s activities in Africa. In addition to its work on behalf of Komatsu, the company is equally proud to be distributors for a host of other premium brands including Sandvik, Bomag, Cummins, Tecnogen and Terex Cranes. With the continent continuing to prosper there has understandably been a continued influx of international companies arriving
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in Africa in recent years. One of the things that Leturcq and others have noticed about a number of these companies is the fact that they arrive with little knowledge of African culture or of the political and economic barriers that exist. This is where BIA becomes a partner of choice. “While we have been representing Komatsu since 1998, BIA has been present in Africa for more than a century,” Leturcq continues. “Therefore it is safe to say that we possess a strong knowledge of Africa culture and how best to conduct business here. Perhaps equally as important is the fact that we know firsthand how one should never underestimate the complexities that exist in this part of the world.” What the majority of the companies now entering the African market share in common is a desire to focus almost exclusively on their core business, in this case production. To this extent they are turning to companies to provide associated services. Where BIA looks to position itself ahead of its competition in this regard is by offering a complete a-to-z service whereby its project management teams can oversee all manner of tasks including logistics, the organisation of spare parts, assembly, repairs and overhauls. Of course offering this type of service also allows a client to have direct control of their
costs, something that is very much a feather in the cap for BIA. “Our approach to business has always been very customer support orientated,” Leturcq states, “to the extent where today 75 percent
“BIA exists as a leading international company in the field of machine distribution for the civil engineering and construction industries” 170 | BE Monthly
BIA
On-site repair of dump truck
of our human resources fall into the after sales side of the business. It is this pool of technicians, engineers, engine specialists and mechanics that we are keen to continue developing. Our strategy has never been to simply lead the market by price or volume, rather we have strived to position ourselves as the supplier of choice when it comes to quality.” In more recent times BIA has found itself working on a number of large-scale greenfield projects including First Quantum’s Sentinel mine project in Zambia. These are large scale undertakings starting from zero and
in the case of the Sentinel project BIA was consulted directly about all manner of things from the definition of equipment to what infrastructure would be required in terms of workshops, re-build centres, warehouses and training facilities. A number of similar projects are on the horizon for BIA and symbolise the big ambitions that the company has. “As strange as it sounds,” Leturcq says, “perhaps one of the biggest challenges we have faced in the last decade is just how fast we have grown. To sustain this growth we have taken on an
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“Where BIA looks to position itself ahead of its competition is by offering a complete a-to-z service” increasingly large number of people, going from having around 400 Belgian and African people working for us across the continent in 2009 to more than 1,000 today. In response to this we have worked hard to restructure
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our organisation in such a way that we are now able to not only retain the talent that we have, but also provide the training needed to create the next generation of workers.” The key to BIA continued success, according
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BIA personnel conducting cement industry operations
to Leturcq, is a dedication to continued investment, not only in its human resources but also its infrastructure. To this end the company is looking to build further upon the five additional branches that it opened across Africa in 2012, with a new branch set to open in Liberia imminently and plans to increase its presence in Cameroon expected to come into effect in early 2014. “Another important development to note,” Leturcq concludes, “is that we are now in the process of implementing an SAP IT system across the business. This is admittedly a massive
investment, however we believe that, given our size, without a strong IT system we lack the optimum level of efficiency that we desire. We recognise that as we continue to grow that this kind of investment becomes all the more necessary and we will not hesitate to seize the opportunity to better ourselves in the years ahead should the opportunity present itself.” For more information about BIA visit: www.biaoverseas.com
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Continental Coal
African energy for Asia Continental Coal is a company whose second name could be ‘expansion’: with three operating mines and another in development this year, growth is a key part of its policy
written by: john o’hanlon research by: Robert Hodgson BE Monthly | 175
Continental Coal
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ased in Perth, Western Australia, is destined for Asia, shipped out through the and listed on the Australian largest coal terminal in the world, Richards Securities exchange (ASX), Bay in KwaZulu Natal. It might be thought Continental Coal is a mining that Australia itself, or the coalfields of company with an Australian India were better placed to supply China, accent – which means it understands coal and it is true that logistically these do have production and, even more importantly, the an edge on South Africa. However Jason market that is blotting up most of the world’s Brewer the company’s finance director has coal and promises to do so for a long time. This pointed out that reliability of supply is of the is of course Asia, and notably China and India. first importance to the power generators of However Continental Coal is a thermal coal Asia. Thanks to Richards Bay South Africa producer, which means its primary market is can provide a more dependable service power generation: whatever the shape of these that either Indonesia with its quality issues great economies’ industry and even Australia, where in periods of future growth, port expansion and rail energy is going to be required infrastructure projects delays and the most cost effective are an issue. way to provide this is still coal. Continental currently The company is unusual in has three operating mines, that its production assets are Penumbra, Vlakvarkfontein currently all located in South and Ferreira, producing 2.8 Invested at Africa. The head office may million tonnes per annum Penumbra mine be in Perth but the company of thermal coal for both the defines itself as a South export and domestic markets. African producer. As well as being listed on In 2013/14 Continental is set to commence the ASX, it has been listed on London’s AIM development of its fourth thermal coal mine, market since September 2011, giving it access De Wittekrans. The Ferreira mine near Ermelo to a wider variety of investors. It is now in the in Mpumalanga Province is just two kilometres process of listing on the Johannesburg Stock from the company’s Delta processing plant. It Exchange too, and its CEO is a South African. is a conventional open-case mine: operations Don Turvey has spent most of his 27 years’ started here in 2008, and the mine was slated experience in the coal industry in his native for closure last year until the mine’s life was country, much of it working for BHP Billiton, extended last year to incorporate adjacent through he has experience of Australia, the resources. It is now expected to produce up to an additional 700,000 tonnes. USA and Indonesia as well. Though it has key supply agreements However a more recent acquisition, with Eskom, South Africa’s national power Vlakvarkfontein another open cast mine 100 generation company, the bulk of its production kilometres away near Delmas to the west
$33
million
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Endeto Engineering is a newly established company in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. Our main aim is to deliver an excellent service to our clients. We offer and deliver fabrication, machining, maintenance and construction services at a highly competitive price.
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Continental Coal of Johannesburg is a key Endeto Engineering asset regarding the domestic Endeto Engineering is a new established company in market for Continental. Middelburg, Mpumalanga with a great future ahead. Under a contract signed in The combination of skills shared by the owners of Endeto March 2012 it is one of only Engineering is a strong foundation for the success of the 25 direct suppliers of coal business. Our members have extensive experience in the to Eskom, and its 17 million maintenance and production fields of the Engineering Industry and have served the Industry for over 20 years. tonnes of proven reserve is They also specialize in Power Generation experience sufficient to keep supplying with specific experience in Maintenance Management it for another decade. (Mechanical and Electrical), Contract Management and Between them Ferreira and Project Management. Vlakvarkfontein produce 1.2 We specialise in steel fabrication, machining, repairs, million tonnes per annum mechanical maintenance and construction, recognising for the domestic market and the needs of today’s industry. admin@endeto.co.za 600,000 tonnes for export. Ferreira is now a stable operation while Vlakvarkfontein is exceeding all its targets and is now producing 1.4 million tonnes a year. However it is Continental Coal’s third operating mine Penumbra, five kilometres from Ferreira, that is driving the next phase of the Australian company’s growth. Production started there at the end of 2012, with the first coal being mined in November. Since then it has been a question of fast-track development: the first continuous mining section, including breakers and conveyors, was installed last December, and this was followed up in February this year by a second. Ferreira coal mine
“Listed on the ASX and AIM, Continental Coal is now in the process of listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange” BE Monthly | 179
Penumbra is currently producing in the region of 30,000 tonnes a month: at full capacity this will be more than doubled. That stage should be reached before 2013 is out and once the final instalments of the $10 million from the sale of its non-core VanMag vanadium and magnetite arm to a Chinese company have been banked. In all, around $33 million has been invested. This is an underground mine, with enough reserves to last ten years: in the current financial year it is expected to 200,000 tonnes of high quality export coal, generating some $17 million in revenue while at full production it will be generating half a million tonnes for the export market. All this is very impressive, but it won’t get Continental Coal to the target it has set itself, which is to reach ten million tonnes per year at some point in 2015. Expect then to see a lot more expansion of the type that has already taken place. In 2011 a feasibility study was completed on the company’s De Wittekrans complex, which has the potential to produce 2.4 million tonnes per year of a thermal coal product described as ideally suited to the Asian coal market over an initial 30-year mine life. De Wittekrans has the potential to become the Company’s flagship project, Don Turvey believes, starting as an open cast operation and later graduating to an underground pit
The company currently sees De Wittekrans as the jewel in its crown, holding as it does estimated reserves of 44 million tonnes, 16.2 million of them in the proven category: it brings the company’s total proven reserves in south Africa to 32.3 million tonnes. Continental Coal’s community involvement and social responsibility commitment is aimed at encouraging economic development in the areas in which it operates. In the early part of this year the first group of students obtained
“Penumbra is expected to produce 200,000 tonnes of high quality export coal, generating some $17 million in revenue” 180 | BE Monthly
Continental Coal
their certificates for successfully completing the first level of their module under the company’s Adult Basic Education and Training Program at the Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine. In addition directors and managers visited the Arbor Village, located near to the Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine, where three classrooms at the Arbor Primary School have been renovated and where the donation of a mobile office to the Arbor Home Based Care Group was made by the company to assist in the care of the elderly and sick and the bi-monthly clinic with the Department of Health. Phase 1 of a Lavender Oil Program at the Arbor Village commenced in February 2013, with an initial eight people employed on this project. The company is very active with other prospects in South Africa, developing a feasibility study for its Vlakplaats project
under an agreement with the Korean company KORES. Vlakplaats is close to Wolvenfontein, another development project recently acquired to consolidate Continental Coal’s position in the Delmas region. At the same time as it reaches out for its ten million tonnes target Continental Coal is looking to expand beyond South – and even southern Africa. Through its Botswana subsidiary, Weldon Investment it holds three tenements in that country, holding massive reserves that it is currently drilling, and Don Turvey has talked of a potential move into East Africa – a move that would make it truly continental. For more information about Continental Coal visit: www.conticoal.com
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Devex
Introducing tomorrow’s smart mine Devex has rethought mine automation, taking it beyond the traditional fleet management mindset: it has developed the products its clients need and is taking them to the world
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Jeff Abbott
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Operating SmartMine|UG system - Map
Devex
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t the moment, though Devex has opened a few offices in other countries where clients have adopted its systems, it is firmly a Brazilian company, with 85 percent of its $35 million annual revenue generated domestically. However there is no better seed-bed for new technology than Brazil, and forward thinking global mining groups are now taking notice of Brazil not just as a country with huge resources to extract but as a developer of smart ways of doing that. Devex was founnded in 1997 by Guilherme Bastos Alvarenga. Dr Alvarenga was employed by Brazil’s biggest integrated steel company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) with responsibility for introducing new technology at its Casa de Pedra mine. “It was while working at Casa de Pedra, at that time the third largest iron ore mine in Brazil, that I realised the extent of the need for far greater mine automation,” he says. At the same time he was completing his masters degree at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). At the university he had developed an in-house open pit solution for his employer, and on the award of his masters, with the agreement of CSN and in partnership with two other researchers from UFMG he took the IP into a spin-off company that is now Devex. His first clients were CSN itself, and Minerações Brasileiras Reunidas (MBR), another large iron ore producer now owned by Vale. Over the following nine years he combined academic work with growing the company, joining the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) as a professor, and serving as head of its computer science department for the
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System integration above and below ground! A large open pit mine in Minas Gerais counted on the aid of more than 30 systems in its operations, each with specific goals and almost all from different suppliers How to integrate dispatch and the other mining systems into one single platform capable of providing a complete view of operations in the mine? Though the mine in question has excellent automation specialists, the team had no experience in applying these concepts, so it looked to Devex as a partner to add value and knowledge to the mining processes. Extreme, which can monitor and manage all the fixed and mobile assets in the mine, including people, started to run full time at the location on 12 December 2012,
serving a 90–strong auxiliary fleet. The implementation of all the modules chosen will be finalised in August 2013. It is precisely this concept of having integrated production, maintenance, operation, operators and equipment information that Devex’s customer was looking for. In the opinion of Devex CEO Guilherme Bastos Alvarenga, the product reached the mine at just the right moment. “Extreme represents a major step in accessing information, with variables related to mobile and fixed assets all centralised in a single online environment for viewing on the screen of the operating control room or on an iPad,” he explained. “The gains should be much larger than projected.”
Complete control of open pit mine activity, in real time.
negativa
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Integrate all mining system operations in one single platform. With Extreme, you can monitor and manage all mining systems, equipment - whether fixed or mobile, auxiliary or production, mining faces, and even people and their activities. Extreme, complete automation of the mining process.
www.devexmining.com
Devex
Central Room project
three years to 2008. However Devex has standalone, ring fenced solutions based on been on a growth track since 2002 when it modules within existing ERP platforms: abandoned its work as an IBM reseller and “Right from the outset we approached the focused 100 percent on developing its own market in a more flexible and integrated way, products, notably SmartMine, its solution and that appealed to the market. During the for mine operation control and optimisation last decade everybody was looking for a fleet in matters such as quality control, freight- management system that would integrate use optimisation, maintenance control and with their legacy systems. That was our telemetry. The many companies that have USP at that time and doing that gave us a very deep knowledge and SmartMine include Vale, expertise in understanding CSN, Kinross, Mineração the realities of mining in Rio do Norte, V&M and AngloGold Ashanti. remote environments.” There have been several However today the market has entered a different reasons for Devex’s success phase, he says. “You must since 2002, Alvarenga Mines in Brazil using understand that in mine sites explains. The mines had Devex solutions they have systems that control become used to adopting
80+
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processes such as flotation circuits, crushers, and the like. But these are linked to many very complex process in the pit, where we find high value capital assets like excavators, trucks, dozers, drillers, blasting equipment, and so on - and there is no automation system for this part of the pit. Fleet management is not the final solution!” Devex accordingly developed Extreme, which he describes as a more complete process solution where fleet management is just one building block among many. Extreme is a complete solution for mine automation that monitors and manages all the systems and equipment, fixed or mobile, auxiliary or core production, and even the activities of people. With Extreme, he says, it is at last possible to plan any type of activity in the mine, monitor it on a single system and follow it to its conclusion in a realistic 3D environment. “Extreme approaches the mine by trying to understand the whole process and control each task from start to finish. We really understand these processes: this is our approach to the market and where we score over the competition.” You can either migrate to Extreme across the board or bolt it on to the legacy system. Its open and extensible architecture represents a completely new approach to mine automation,
he confides – and it has a great future. Devex also has a mine process automation solution developed for underground mine, SmartMine|UG). SmartMine|UG, already installed in two underground mines and Extreme, installed in one open pit mine, are the most exciting things to have happened in mining for many years – this level of automation cuts costs, improves safety, makes the whole operation faster and more efficient
“It was while working at Casa de Pedra that I realised the extent of the need for far greater mine automation” 188 | BE Monthly
Devex
SmartMine|UG system screen
and takes the guesswork out of mineral production. “I really feel we have brought into the 21st century by enabling these systems to work on iPads, tablet devices and iPhones if needed. There is no known form of technology from any other provider who can take it to this level, and few of our competitors have our ‘collaborative approach’. For us that is one of the many keys to helping our clients.” The HSE agenda is something companies are belatedly waking up to, and employee protection is an area that could be improved on in many mining jurisdictions. To keep people safe you need to know where they are. The lateral thinking that produced SmartMine and Extreme led Devex to question the effectiveness of current RFIDbased systems. “RFID signals do not work
reliably in underground mines,” Dr Alvarenga explains, “partly because of their low power output, partly because of competition from other equipment. We developed SafetYou which is a wireless system based on a small device on the operator’s belt and which is very reliable in tracking people and mapping their location individually or in groups At last you can be certain exactly where people are in the mine, in real time.” Among the other highly effective products Devex has developed for underground mines is eControl to manage the electric equipment in equipment such as fans, water pumps and substations. SmartMine and its family of satellite products meanwhile cater for those clients who are not ready to go for fully blown automation.
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The Exacta family is a high precision element within SmartMine that is installed on the onboard computer of individual key equipment like dozers and loaders and the like giving the operator total control. When any action does not go according to plan, alarms go off and the operator instantly receives all the information needed to fix the error. The company has grown in a fairly complex way, organically, by acquisition and by entering
strategic partnerships. Early in 2011 it bought MineInside, a software development and data integration company as well as SmartCargo, a program that optimises equipment utilisation. In 2010 Devex became the exclusive supplier in Brazil of SafeMine, a traffic management and specifically a collision avoidance system proved in the industry since 2003. Having cracked the Brazilian market, and to a large having expanded in South America
“Extreme approaches the mine by trying to understand the whole process and control each task from start to finish�
The Extreme system allows users to monitor all workplaces in a unique screen
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Devex
Extreme system screen
with considerable success in Chile, Devex is now ready to take on the world. It recently announced a strategic partnership with CAE Mining under which CAE will distribute Devex products in Canada, Russia, and a group of CIS countries including Kazakhstan. “Devex does not plan to do absolutely everything but Extreme is going to be the platform because it is an open architecture system that can work independently or integrate with third party products. We are here to sell our services but at the same time we want to bring in OEMs and large automation companies as collaborators in this system.” The company opened an office in Brisbane in 2011following Vale’s decision to develop a massive nickel complex in New Caledonia, is currently setting up a new office in Mexico.
Guilherme Alvarenga is as flexible in his approach to geographical expansion as to software development, and will do whatever it takes, opening up offices and hiring local experts, or going into partnership with like minded partners as seems most appropriate. His aspirations are realistic though they are nothing if not broad. “I don’t think our new approach leaves room for many competitors. We think Devex has a very big opportunity ahead. Today I have 85 percent of my revenue in Brazil – as we expand I am confident we’ll grow 20 times bigger than we are today.” For more information about Devex visit: www.devexmining.com
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Roads less
It is risky and sometimes scary to get and countries like Mongolia that ar make it worthwhile – and these are b
written by: John O’Hanlon 192 | BE Monthly
ACCL International
s travelled
t involved in post-conflict economies re modernizing apace: the rewards by no means just financial rewards
| research by: James Boyle BE Monthly | 193
Camp Lonestar, a 500 man facility located in the “Tora Bora� region of Eastern Afghanistan
ACCL International
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n March 1 this year ACCL International’s President, Haji Habibullah Pirzada, opened the company’s newly built headquarters in Kabul. ACCL is an Afghanistan-based company that makes use of its unique approach to partnership in a variety of post-conflict or underdeveloped regions worldwide to create wealth. It is a sign of the success of this unusual company that it had grown out of the premises it occupied since it was established in 2003. Commercial success in Afghanistan is counter-intuitive to say the least, and it’s no place to take a risk avoidance strategy. But the opportunities for people of vision are huge. Pirzada was accompanied at the opening by his co-founder Sargon Heinrich, a cosmopolitan and multilingual former Bechtel executive whose experience included managing the provision of logistical support to the international initiative to put out the oil well fires Saddam Hussein left behind when he was chased out of Kuwait at the end of the first Gulf war. That experience must have given him a taste for unstable, challenging post-conflict, what he calls austere environments because he headed over to Afghanistan where he met Pirzada, who led a construction and dry-walling company in Kabul. Together they set about the task of building training facilities for the future development of Afghanistan, some of them based on former US military establishments. The pair started with small refurbishment projects, gradually taking on larger assignments till today ACCL is one of the largest employers in Afghanistan, with 3,000
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3,000 People employed in Afghanistan by ACCL International
ACCL provides full life support services including catering
196 | BE Monthly
staff. And this growth has been organic – these are local staff, explains Paul Stukel, a co-director of ACCL International. “That has been a key part of our philosophy in Afghanistan and elsewhere, summed up in our tagline Afghans Building Afghanistan. A lot of the large players bring in their own people, do their thing and then leave. There is no legacy, no local development.” That is a sound business model and it works in the short term. But sustainable business calls for a different approach. “If you are going to do business in Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kenya, UAE you really ought to help the local economy so that when and if you leave something of value remains.” It is this approach that worked so well in Afghanistan, allowing ACCL to be much more effective than arms-length companies. “We know the locals – because we are the locals!” says Stukel. This is the model ACCL International has exported to Mongolia among other places. Just over a year ago ACCL moved into another office, in one of Dubai’s outstanding buildings, the Reef Tower. Dubai, the company’s strategic hub since 2005, is something of a contrast to the operational locations, but it is ideal for the company,
ACCL International
ACCL International construction staff
says Stukel. “Dubai is the Hong Kong of the Middle East! It’s politically stable, tolerant and very business-friendly. Given our global expansion plans, we thought it was ideally suited as our international headquarters from which to support all our international operations from a procurement, logistical and financial perspective.” Apart from Kabul and Dubai, ACCL now has offices in Nairobi Kenya, Entebbe Uganda and Chicago USA – and crucially in Ulaan Baatar Mongolia. Mongolia is every bit as challenging as
Afghanistan. The remoteness of the mine sites, which are a primary market for ACCL, is only matched by the extremes of the weather. But that is an attraction rather than a deterrent for a company that has proven itself in Afghanistan, a country that is a war zone to all intents and purposes. “You are dealing with IEDs, local insurgency, and having to be careful who you hire because they might pose a security risk.” Mongolia is more secure politically but it has some parallels in other areas. In
“You really ought to help the local economy so that when and if you leave something of value remains” BE Monthly | 197
Afghanistan ACCL learned to manage people with vastly differing levels of education with basic literacy a problem in some cases. “To produce first world quality in a very difficult environment is something we have shown we can do. That impresses the mining industry because they tend to work in places that are remote and not the kind of place you take the family on vacation!” Once again, ACCL Mongolia is a local company incorporated in Ulaan Bataar. “We are a Mongolian company that plans to stay there, using as much Mongolian labour and resources as humanly possible. Again we work very closely with the officials there, establishing our bona fides on the basis that we are there for the long term. This is not a project to us, it is a commitment to Mongolia!” Mongolia is a treasure trove of resources, he continues, wide open to extraction projects of every kind. A single mine, Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi project, is expected to earn a third of the country’s GDP. But the activity is all exploration so far. Mining has yet to begin on the numerous sites that are under development in the Gobi Desert but when it does the activity will be frenetic. Building a mining camp, and supplying it, is very similar to building a training establishment or an academy, and there is certain to be strong demand for
ACCL’s services from this sector – it is currently developing independent camp operations in support of a number of south Gobi mines. Typically, this might include 300-500 man accommodation blocks, shopping and dining facilities; vehicle and heavy equipment repair facilities as well as entertainment and healthcare options. Meanwhile there is no dearth of projects to keep the local team busy
“We are a Mongolian company that plans to stay there, using as much Mongolian labour and resources as humanly possible” 198 | BE Monthly
ACCL International
Company President, Habibullah Pirzada reviews the construction plans at Bagram, just outside of Kabul
under its local operations manager Richard Tisdale. ACCL has built and is operating a coal storage facility in the Zamyn Uud free zone on the China/Mongolia border in partnership with Global Mongolian Holdings. Additionally it is in the process of developing a low cost housing feasibility study for the Mongolian government and mining company local resettlement and community development initiatives. Over the years ACCL has developed considerable expertise in the application of Steel Arch Formed Structures (K-Span) to building projects. One of the more cost effective construction methods available, this has proved a low cost way of providing durable commercial buildings in difficult
terrain, and has been approved by the United States military. The system’s primary application is for warehousing and multiuse structures required to comply with a range of national and local specifications, and the characteristic round arched roofs of these buildings can be seen at ACCL projects throughout Afghanistan. The Mongolia subsidiary is now building ten K-Span warehouses for an agribusiness conglomerate in north-eastern Mongolia. As the Mongolia business grows the country can expect to benefit from some imaginative interventions on the CSR front, though as yet nobody knows what they will be. In Afghanistan the company built orphanages, though its highest-profile project was its
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ACCL helped support Skateistan, a co-ed skateboarding school in Afghanistan
ACCL International support of Skateistan, the world’s first co-ed skateboarding school which takes Afghan boys and girls of all ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds, teaching them not only skateboarding skills and skateboarding instruction, but also healthy habits, civic responsibility, information technology, the arts, and languages. ACCL built at its own expense the largest indoor skateboarding facility in Asia for the internationally known project. “When boys and girls spend their one day a week at Skateistan it is sometimes the only square meal they get.� Another very imaginative project initiated in Afghanistan by ACCL founder Sargon Heinrich is a clothing design business that turns traditional Afghan materials and dress styles into high fashion, and sells it in New York, Paris or London, creating much needed local employment for women in the process. Thinking this way, Paul Stukel suggests, embeds the business in the minds and hearts of the people and differentiates it from the fly-in-fly-out, high security operations that typify service contracts in dangerous or demanding territory. The company has never had a confrontational situation with any of its employees, he says, largely because it has always consulted the traditional leaders when setting up a project. In a highly diverse tribal country like Afghanistan where not everyone gets along, this is the prudent approach. For more information about ACCL International visit: www.acclinternational.com
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202 | BE Monthly
IMA Engineering
Cutting edge
technology IMA’s products and services can make the difference between profitability and loss for an operation seeking to improve information used by management – and imparted to investors
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Marcus Lewis
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IMA Engineering
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Jukka and OreAlyzer PDSA in Perth 2013
MA stands for Innovative Mineral Analyzers and here is a company that does exactly what its name says. IMA is a technology front-runner in mining on-line analysis, and if that sounds dry, for mining companies concerned to occupy the critical space between metal prices and extraction costs material analysis can well be what decides viability. You can’t plan based on what you don’t know and IMA gives you the critical information often missing in mining; the value of the ore. The company was formerly a part of the Finnish listed engineering group Outokumpu. In the 1990s, faced with a difficult global market, the group restructured around its core business spinning off IMA Engineering, which next January will be celebrating its 20-year anniversary as a private company whose shares are owned by a group of individuals and investors, including its Managing Director Mr Jukka Raatikainen. Jukka was already an experienced engineer and product manager at Outokumpu, and keen to develop products and technologies he had been working on that were then under development and bring them to market. At the time of its foundation IMA was focused on concentrator applications, he says. “We were making analysers for measuring concentrator slurries. We were not involved in the core business of Outokumpu which was mainly to do with analysers for base metal mines. We were developing applications in other areas.” These included the X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) QuarCon system, an on-belt analyser system for monitoring crushed ore products, mainly in limestone
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500 metres Length of core Scanmobile can analyse in a day
QuarCon 200 fast conveyor analyzer
206 | BE Monthly
and ‘white minerals’, and a sampling and analysis product for the cement industry called IMACON. Setting a pattern for its future business model IMA was already working with FLSmidth, the world-leading supplier of cement plants. The QuarCon and IMACON systems are still available, though technology never stands still and these products, leading edge at the time, are now classed as the firm’s ‘traditional’ ranges, he says. By 2000 IMA was already looking at ways to add value in the mining environment. “The in-house technical applications we had, Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) for example, led to products developed for the mines. For online measurement the big hurdle is sampling: we developed sampling methods and ways of adapting them from laboratory methods to online applications.” In a laboratory, he explains, samples are prepared, finely ground and examined in vacuum conditions. You may get a more accurate result with it on a spot sample than is possible when examining a fast-moving slurry or powder with on line methods. However, a good degree of analysis accuracy and excellent continuous sampling representativeness can be achieved by an online analyser, giving a reading every 30
IMA Engineering
QuarCon setup in cement plant
seconds. That’s real-time information. “With laboratory testing you are always viewing the process in the rear-view mirror!” he points out. Limestone and cement processes are more tractable than those encountered underground. “Within a mine it is extremely difficult to reach analysis that gives a picture of the area where you are loading and blasting. That is why we developed a X-ray and laser-based conveyor fast analysis applications. Concentrators are stable. They stay in the same place. In a mine the operation is always moving and the sampling
and analysis equipment has to move with the equipment.” IMA’s OreSpex systems are designed to scan in real time the run-ofmine (ROM) ore being conveyed in mines and quarries. This is more than just a matter of good housekeeping: mines have become used to factoring in ‘waste rock dilution’ of between five and 20 percent. If too much waste material is getting into the feed the concentrator is running at lowered efficiency and that goes straight to the bottom line. “We believe it is very important to analyse the material at the point it goes on the conveyor. We offer the technology to analyse it within
“With laboratory testing you are always viewing the process in the rear-view mirror!” BE Monthly | 207
tenths of seconds, straight from the crusher – then if anything is wrong remedial action, like sorting out the unwanted waste rock or adjusting recovery process parameters according to ore characteristics before it enters the the plant, can be taken straight away.” However waiting till the ore is blasted is too late to really avoid dilution problems. How is it possible to be sure you are only blasting
and loading the ore and not waste rock ? To map the deposit geologists use drilling results of course, but this can be a slow process. Seven years ago IMA Engineering came up with its first on-site drill core analyser in cooperation with its sister company Mine On-Line Service. “In any typical exploration programme,” explains Jukka, “even on a greenfield site, you need to get samples of the ore body. During the exploration phase
“Scanmobile is a factory-like process, in which these boxes are put in the scanning station and automatically analysed on the spot”
OreSpex on conveyor detecting waste
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IMA Engineering
Scanmobile in action
time is becoming very important. Investors want real time information. Quite often it can take ten years from starting drilling to getting a mine into operation. Even majors developing an established ore body don’t want to take that long: for the juniors time is critical.” The company’s response was to develop a scanning station in which cores could be analysed almost instantly and the analysis information could be delivered to mine planning programs within days or weeks instead of years as is the case with conventional technology. The familiar pattern of exploring an area, whether in the mine or outside, is to box up the cores, log them and send them to the laboratory to be analysed. It can take six months to get the results back. “If you are in
a drilling campaign you have to wait till you have those results before you can move on to plan the next holes to drill. We developed a machine that can analyse these drill cores immediately as they are put in the boxes, he says. “It is a factory-like process, in which these boxes are put in the scanning station and automatically analysed on the spot.” A scanning station of this type can handle up to 500 metres of drill core in a day: a drilling campaign of ten kilometres can thus be analysed within a month.. Mine ON-Line Service has been trialling and operating this service, known as Scanmobile, in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Finland since 2008 – with the emphasis on service. “The mining company doesn’t have to buy the equipment – they just pay by
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the metre!” The equipment is installed in the Scanmobile van and moved from site to site, for the duration of the drilling campaign, he adds. “The information flows automatically from the van and the geologists can see it instantly via the internet. On the same day, or within a couple of days at most, they can download very accurate images of the drill cores, examine the boxes on-screen, and read the analysis.” In practical terms, using Scanmobile gives the client the chance to move without delay to planning the next drill hole pattern and move on to the next drilling campaign. It is a very good example of IMA’s focus on improving
Testing drill cuttings analysis
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mine efficiency and getting the most out of the ore by addressing the real issues faced by mining companies. Scanmobile service is delivered by Mine On-Line Service (MOLS), a kind of in-house partnership that works very well. However to take the products and services to a global market it is IMA’s strategy to link up with larger equipment and systems companies where appropriate. Not all drills produce cores. It is also important to examine the material, known as drill cuttings, brought up by standard percussive or rotary drills – the information from the drill cuttings can’t be as accurate as from a core but by using
IMA Engineering
“We are sure that in ten years all mines will have orealyzer on board their drilling rigs” techniques perfected by IMA it can approach these levels. “We have now developed a method to analyse and feed online the results of drill cuttings using equipment that is installed and integrated with the drill rig,” says Jukka Raatikainen. The new product and service, branded
OreAlyzer, will be brought to market in partnership with the equipment manufacturer Atlas Copco. The analyser will be manufactured by IMA, integrated on Atlas Copco rigs and marketed integrally with them. “We wanted the best possible partner because this is a product with huge global potential,” he continues. “In drill cuttings analysis the challenge is to sample the material that comes out of the hole.” OreAlyzer analyses the elemental content of the cuttings, giving an instant reading. As the drill progresses it can analyse the material within 30 centimetre accuracy giving ‘analyse while drilling’ information which is processed in the rig’s on-board computer and transmitted to the mine in real time along with data about the location, depth, hardness and penetration rate. “This is the best information you can get prior to blasting. It allows you to create a 3D model telling the mine where to blast.” OreAlyzer is nothing less than a mining revolution, he believes, giving operators a new tool to work more accurately, position their blasting correctly, identifying the cutoff line, avoiding waste material sent to the concentrator and improving health and safety too. It is now available on AtlasCopco’s highly automated D65 Smart Rock machine. “We are sure that in ten years all mines will
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Testing prototype in the Arctic
IMA Engineering
20% Typical waste rock dilution in mines have this on board their drilling rigs,” says Jukka confidently. “At present they don’t know how much ore they are losing in the waste stream. They only have average results. A new world opens when you have a 3D model of the bench.” IMA On-Line Mine Vision is behind all these products, and others it has in development. Accurate extraction of an accurately identified ore body and stable feed to the concentrator are business critical goals for mining companies. IMA is a research based company, and will continue to look for partners to adopt and market its products – privately owned, well-funded and with excellent links to universities and research institutions in Finland. There are many more applications for its technology says Jukka: “We are always looking for new applications in the market.” Those attracting his interest currently include slag analysis and the optimisation of laterite ore bodies but whatever the mine’s problem IMA engineering is happy to discuss it, develop a solution, and hopefully bring it to the market in the shape of a product that will benefit the industry as a whole. For more information about IMA Engineering visit: www.ima.fi
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grindex
THE ART OF STAYING DRY One of the strongest brands in the world for dewatering pumps, Grindex is an important partner for mining, construction and infrastructure: as part of the Xylem group it has a truly global reach
written by: John O’Hanlon research by: Marcus Lewis
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G
rindex was founded in 1940 by two Swedish engineers. Among its earliest products was a rock grinding machine: this established the firm in the mining and construction markets; however when co-founder Bรถrje Kristensson was out selling the grinding machine, he came across a new product on the market, a submersible drainage pump. The problem with submersible pumps in the early 1960s was that they were heavy and could not run dry. Kristensson set
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about developing a lightweight pump that could run dry, thanks to a patented air valve. The rest, as they say, is history. Grindex retained its name, but by the 1980s sold the grinding machine business and positioned itself as a specialist in dewatering pumps for many applications. Today the company is a global leader in submersible pumps for demanding applications such as construction, mining and rental. Grindex products are exported all around the world through more than 50 regional distributors.
Grindex
In 1989 Grindex set up a USA subsidiary in Chicago. The company’s current Managing Director Per Rehn went out there in 2009, two years after he joined the company, to manage a strategic expansion into the Canadian market. Having overseen the growth of sales in North America from $6 million to $10 million in the course of two years, he returned to Sweden where he now heads the global activities of Grindex AB. The year 2008 saw a major restructuring of the company. “At that time it was decided
to optimise the synergies between the different specialist pump manufacturers in the ITT group and to develop a platform upon which to develop the Grindex range along with others within the corporation,” says Rehn. This reduced the amount of overlap within the group’s product ranges, as well as introducing the sound automotive industry principle of utilising common components wherever possible. The company closed its old office and moved to new premises in Stockholm. At
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$50 million Grindex 2012 turnover
the same time the manufacturing facilities were rationalised as well. Grindex closed its Stockholm factory and moved production to an extended manufacturing facility at Emmaboda in the Småland district of southern Sweden, with dedicated lines for the Grindex ranges. Divested of the need to run a manufacturing facility Grindex now concentrates on its sales, marketing and logistics functions and on extending its reach in overseas markets. The new set up has been very beneficial for Grindex’s sales, its top line growing from DKK 210 million, or around $33 million in 2009, to DKK 332 million in 2012 – a little over $50 million. It will be observed that the growth in business both in the USA and globally under Rehn’s watch was achieved in the face of a global recession. However he is quick to admit that it was helped by the fact that the mining sector, one of the principal applications for the range, has expanded as softer markets have contracted. The company, leaner after its reorganisation, retains the key advantages that established the brand. “Having been in the market since the 1960s we have a legacy of satisfaction from our customers, and of knowledgeable, experienced people working in the company.” This legacy has positioned Grindex as one of the very few
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Grindex
truly global brands, its major competitors the Japanese manufacturer Tsurumi and ABS pumps, recently acquired by Sulzer. In 2011 the water management businesses within the ITT group were combined and the new group was named Xylem – as every schoolchild should know, xylem are the waterraising filaments in trees and plants! To illustrate the power of Grindex pumps when faced with a really challenging problem, one of the best examples comes not from Africa or Asia, but on Grindex’s doorstep in Sweden, says Rehn. In 2011 the locks of the Trollhättan canal in central Sweden needed to be upgraded, and new gates installed.
Each lock can accommodate ships up to 4,000 tonnes: they are 89 metres in length, 13 metres wide and 5.4 metres deep and hold more than 6,000 cubic metres of water. Four locks needed emptying, so powerful and reliable pumps that could operate around the clock were essential. Staff from Grindex’s technical department assisted the contractor Sjuntorps Industri Support AB with the sizing of the pumps. With 37 million litres of water to be drained before work could get started, three slurry pumps, 22 drainage pumps and a sludge pump were recommended. After 25 days the project was successfully completed and the
“we have a legacy of satisfaction from our customers, and of knowledgeable, experienced people working in the company” BE Monthly | 219
“I think local knowledge is very important if you want to build a good relationship with the mine management� canal re-opened to shipping: the pumps were given a standard service and put back into storage awaiting the next rental project. Mining companies are now increasingly turning to Grindex to cope with harsh conditions underground. In the largest underground copper mine in the world in Chile, Grindex Inox pumps able to pump 50 litres per second paid for themselves within months when installed to replace conventional
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end-suction pumps that were pumping only 15 litres per second and had spare part availability problems. The mine needed to reclaim copper from the water rather than just send it to the treatment plant. Grindex’s exclusive distributor for the Chilean market, Santiago-based ACH, provides a maintenance contract where the pumps are pulled out for preventive maintenance every 2,000 hours and replaced by stand-in pumps. The
Grindex
preventive maintenance avoids unscheduled stops and more expensive repairs and the total maintenance cost is cut drastically. To keep up not just with the volume growth in mining but also its geographical expansion, Per Rehn wants to refocus his team and his resources onto emerging markets. This approach has paid off in Latin America through hiring people resident in Sweden but born and raised in Central and South America. “They are versed in the culture, know the local languages and understand the way business is done in these markets. I think local knowledge of this sort is very important if you want to build a good relationship with the mine management.” There are Australian, Russians and people from South-east Asia in Grindex working
alongside local distributors to penetrate these markets. “It is our strategy to make full use of distributors in most of our markets – we do not have our own sales teams in the field except in USA and even there we appoint regional distributors too.” Appointing a distributor is a long-term commitment, he adds. “We consider ourselves very entrepreneurial, and we like to encourage a similar spirit in our distributors. In response we try to listen to them and respond in a flexible way when they suggest improvements, something they appreciate.” For more information about Grindex visit: www.grindex.com
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Panama Canal Expansion Program
A global
game changer The expansion of the Panama Canal is the highest profile undertaking in all of Central America and one that is on course to change the world of maritime trade forever
written by: Will Daynes research by: Abi Abagun
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Panama Canal
C
Lock construction, Pacific site
utting across the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is a 77.1 kilometre ship canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean, via the Caribbean Sea, to the Pacific Ocean and a hugely important conduit for international maritime trade, providing work markets with a time and cost effective crossing. Indeed the Panama Canal has had a massive transformative effect on world maritime commerce over the year, while from a local perspective it contributes some 20 percent of Panama’s total gross domestic product. Work on the canal by the French actually began back in 1881, however a series of engineering problems and high mortality rates led to the project falling into US hands in 1904. Ten years later and the project to construct the first two-lane canal and set of locks was complete, thus enabling ships the opportunity to avoid the lengthy, often hazardous, Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South American or to navigate the Strait of Magellan. In 1999 control of the canal was passed on to the Panamanian government who in turn created the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous agency tasked with managing the commercial waterway. Since it was opened in 1914, annual traffic through the canal has risen from around 1,000 vessels per year to 14,702 in 2008. His meant that in total, to the end of 2008, more than 815,000 vessels have made use of the canal. When you take these figures into account it becomes immediately quite obvious why the focus in recent years has been on
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Show the world what your company has to offer with our tailored packages
Seen www.bus-ex.com
Panama Canal
Excavation work in progress
expanding the Panama Canal further still. The project itself will involve building Led by the ACP, the Panama Canal two new locks, one each on the Atlantic Expansion Program (also known as the and Pacific sides (each with three chambers Third Set of Locks Project) is set to double with water-saving basins), excavating new the capacity of the canal by 2015 by creating channels to the said locks, widening and a new lane of traffic, while deepening existing channels and raising the maximum allowing more, larger ships to make use of its waterways. operating level of the Gatun Such ships will include the Lake, a large artificial lake that forms a major part of the new generation of super container vessels, something canal system. that will open the canal up The new locks are 30 Of Panama’s GDP comes to new routes and previously percent larger than the from the Panama Canal untapped markets. existing locks. They are so
20%
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“The work currently taking place at the Panama Canal is very much what industry experts are calling history in the making� large in fact that you could fit three Empire State Buildings lengthwise inside their chambers. The third set of locks open and close using double sliding steel gates, each of which weighs approximately 3,300 tonnes.
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In order to ensure the sustainable use of water the lock design incorporates the use of three water saving basins per chamber. These basins allow for as much as 60 percent of the contained water to be reused in each transit.
Panama Canal
Artist’s impression of the finished complex
Meanwhile, away from the canal itself, the ACP continues to contribute towards extensive greenfield reforestation projects where, in order to compensate for the land reclaimed for the canal expansion, some 600 hectares of space has seen the introduction of new trees. This space is also now home to the mammals, birds and reptiles that needed to be relocated once the programme got underway. The programme of works being undertaken ranks as Central America’s most visible expansion program and the largest project in the canal’s history. It is
expected that over the next two decades cargo volumes moving through the canal will continue to grow at an average of three percent per annum, almost doubling the tonnage volume of 2005 by 2025. It is because of this projected increase in traffic that the canal authority and its partners are proceeding rapidly with an undertaking that will ultimately cost $5.25 billion. The existing two sets of locks, which raise ships 85 feet above sea level, have so far defined the “Panamax” standard, which limits the size of container vessels to a maximum
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General view of the Atlantic locks site
Panama Canal
$5.25 Billion Total cost of the expansion program of 5,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). From 2014, deeper and wider access channels will complement new locks to the southwest of the existing Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side and east of Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side. This will enable the canal to move into the “post-Panamax� phase of its evolution and accommodate the transit of 13,000+ TEU ships. As of April 2013, 54 percent of the total expansion project had been completed with both Atlantic and Pacific entrances among the main section of the undertaking to be ready for use. Throughout the project to date the operators gave successfully managed to keep traffic volumes undisturbed despite the huge amount of dredging equipment that has been brought it. The work currently taking place at the Panama Canal is very much what industry experts are calling history in the making and the expansion of one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World is sure to be game changing development for traders and consumers the world over. For more information about Panama Canal Expansion Program visit: www.pancanal.com
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Supporting So
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) is the South African government’s ex
written by: Will Daynes | r
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Transnet Port Terminals ( TPT)
outhern Africa
playing a leading role in making xport-led growth strategy a success
research by: Paul Bradley
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Aerial view of Durban harbour, South Africa
TPT
I
t was in 2000 that Transnet’s then single port division, Portnet, was divided into separate operations and landlord businesses. It was this decision that led to the creation of Transnet Port Terminals (TPT). Since its formation the business has played a fundamental role in supporting the export-led strategy of the South African government. Most Southern African import and export commodities are handled through South Africa’s seven logistics ports, Richards Bay, Durban, Saldanha, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Port of Ngqura. The Port of Ngqura is the newest of the above ports. It is here, seven kilometres outside of Port Elizabeth, where a great degree of investment has been made in order to purchase a total of six new cranes and accumulate a large amount of borrowed equipment with the objective of getting the facility up and running quickly so as to meet the expanding demand for imports and exports in the region. It is at these locations that TPT handles container, mineral bulk, agricultural bulk and RoRo operations. In addition the business also implements logistics management solutions for its container, bulk, break-bulk and car terminal operations. Its major customers meanwhile represent a broad spectrum of the economy and include the shipping industry, vehicle manufacturers, agriculture, timber and forest products, the mining industry and exporters of minerals, metals and granite. TPT operates container terminals at Ngqura, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Africa’s busiest port, Durban, which possesses the southern hemisphere’s largest and best-equipped
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TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS TPT container terminal. Over the course of the last decade TPT has invested large sums of capital in upgrading this specific sector. In 2007 the redeveloped Durban Container Terminal Pier 1 facility, South Africa’s first rubber tyred gantry operation, was launched. Following this was the launch of Ngqura Container Terminal, the state of the art transhipment hub, servicing traffic from the East, South America and West African markets.
Each of TPT’s container terminals utilises the NAVIS system which provides integrated real time shipping information. These terminals are also supported by a call centre
STEFANUTTI STOCKS MARINE Across the African continent and beyond, into the Middle East, one cannot fail to have noticed the activity to build and further develop ports. The economic and social impacts of these often mammoth projects have a positive impact on thousands of lives, creating jobs and infrastructure where none previously existed. Perhaps less noticeable, is the effort and expertise that go into developing these ports – and in South Africa and increasingly across the whole region, one name has become a byword for quality - Stefanutti Stocks Marine. Stefanutti Stocks Marine is a division of the Stefanutti Stocks Structures Business Unit, itself a part of Stefanutti Stocks (Pty) Ltd. The holding company, Stefanutti Stocks Holdings Limited is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The Marine Division is responsible for procuring and executing marine construction work for the Structures Business Unit. “We provide work in all aspects of marine business, including the
deepening and widening of docks, rehabilitation of slipways, quay wall construction, jetty construction, ship lifts, breakwaters and pre-cast solutions including EPC work.” says Simon Allen, Managing Director of the Marine Division. “Within South Africa, probably 90 percent of our projects are for Transnet, the state-run entity which controls the nation’s ports.” Whilst Transnet projects are open to international bids, Allen says that Stefanutti Stocks has an edge when it comes to selection, because of its reputation for expertise and experience, but also because of its unique standing within South Africa’s civil engineering sector. Stefanutti Stocks Marine prides itself on partnering and being a solutions provider to South African port construction, hand-in-hand with Transnet. www.stefanuttistocks.com
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KwaZulu-Natal Road Markers KwaZulu-Natal Road Markers is a 100% Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment company, empowered by the Dept. of Transport KwaZuluNatal under the Vukuzakhe Programme, a programme introduced by the KZN former Minister of Transport and the then Premier of KZN, the Honourable S’bu Ndebele. Our company is also affirmed by the Presidency’s poverty alleviation initiative, the Expanded Public Works Programme and we are a BBEEE Level 3. The company was registered in 1999, prior to the registration its proprietor has a long experience which is over 20 years of specialist experience
in Road Marking and general road maintenance. We have highly trained and skilled road markers that use the best technology available to work accurately and quickly. All our crews have undergone hazard and safety training, to ensure that work sites remain safe for both our workers and other road users. We also take on road-marking maintenance contracts, delivering a total package of services from start to finish. E. kznroadmarkers@vodamail.co.za www.roadmarkers.co.za
SPECIALISTS IN ROAD MARKING, THERMO PLASTIC ROADMARKING, MAINTENANCE, SAND BLASTING AND MANUFACTURES / SUPPLIERS OF ROAD MARKING MACHINES Our products: • Road Marking • Painting roads and parking areas • Installation of road studs, guard rails and signs • Sandblasting • Manufacturers and suppliers of road marking machines Our dedicated workmanship helps lead the diverse majority to their destinations. We ensure the best quality and safety on our roads. We are growing as the traffic flows in all directions; slow, fast; either way we are delianators in a human form. Road marking is our passion and innovation with inspiration are key traits that define us. No matter the weather, our people remain safe day and night. Thank you to KwaZulu Roadmarkers: Where everyone finds direction every time. It is right there on the road surfaces. FIND YOUR DIRECTION!
General Manager, Ms Charmaine Nxumalo
Tel: (+27) 721915314 | Fax: (+27) 865403191 Email: kznroadmarkers@vodamail.co.za www.roadmarkers.co.za
TPT which provides a single point of contact and consolidated information to facilitate communication and customer service. TPT’s mineral bulk operations at Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth and Saldanha are integral parts of logistics corridors for key cargo. Richards Bay is something of a hub for as many as 13 core commodities, including coal and woodchips, while Port Elizabeth handles the region’s manganese products, and Saldanha its iron ore and steel products. The work that takes place as part of these operations is characterised by long runs on a network of conveyor belts, large dry bulk parcels and neo-bulk parcels using skip loading solutions. Agricultural exports however are just as vital to the South African economy. This makes it all the more important that TPT is able to provide state-of-the-art agricultural bulk operations that offer customers storage and other facilities that cater to international market requirements. Commodities handled across ports such as Cape Town and East London include wheat, maize, soya bean meal, animal feed and various fresh produce. Different break-bulk commodities meanwhile are handled at various different ports. At its port in Durban TPT handles steel commodities, project cargo and abnormal
“Most Southern African import and export commodities are handled through South Africa’s seven logistics ports” BE Monthly | 239
cargo, as well as carrying out niche container business, while in Cape Town the predominant products include timber, steel and cement. Meanwhile at its East London facility TPT handles containerised cargo that includes motor vehicle components, chemicals, textiles, fruits, sugar and scrap items. Vital as all of these areas of TPT’s business may be, and believe me they are absolutely fundamental to South Africa’s economic
prosperity, arguably the most exciting aspect of its operations is its car terminal operations. Over the course of the last decade South Africa has experienced exponential growth in its automotive industry and today the Durban car terminal is responsible for handling approximately two-thirds of all vehicles either entering or leaving the country. The growth of this sector played a strong role in ushering in a new era for the Durban car
“South Africa’s ports are seen as key engines for the economic growth that the government hopes to achieve” 240 | BE Monthly
TPT
Container ship unloading
terminal in early 2003. It was then that work commenced on Durban’s much-needed port expansion project. One element of this project involved the construction of a three-storey structure that boasts 3,800 additional parking bays and an over-pass linking the car terminal with the quayside. Today the terminal is in the process of increasing its parking capacity up 10,000 parking bays to 14,000, resulting in an increased throughput from 400,000 units to 570,000 units per annum. The South African government today finds itself embarking upon a huge infrastructure drive with the core aims being to boost the economy and alleviate poverty. The country’s ports are seen as key engines for the economic growth that the government hopes to achieve and it is for that reason that,
under the Transnet Market Demand Strategy, TPT will receive R33 billion aimed at creating new capacity for terminals to meet projected future demand. With this in mind plans are already afoot to expand various aspects of the business including increasing bulk handling capabilities at Saldanha and expanding the business’s coal skip container capacity by purchasing 1,500 new units. These are without doubt promising times for South Africa’s commercial ports, the regions they are located, TPF as an organisation and most importantly its customers. For more information about Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) visit: www.transnet.net
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Beier Envirotec
The technical textiles of choice Operations Director, Warren Sachs, discusses the growth of Beier Envirotec and the company’s plans for future development, both in South Africa and further afield
written by: Will Daynes research by: Paul Bradley BE Monthly | 243
Beier Envirotec
I
t was in 1929 that O. T. H. Beier, a young everything we do here is related to engineered pioneer living in Germany, made a life- textiles and solutions in some form,” explains changing decision, going against the Operations Director, Warren Sachs. “What wishes of his family by leaving his home makes us unique is that our philosophy and travelling to Durban to establish involves targeting niche, speciality markets himself as a wool merchant. Little could Beier and those that require specific development. and his family have realised that with this Our entire business model revolves around decision he would be sowing the seeds for developing new products that are focused what would become a business legacy that on markets such as filtration, engineering continues in 2013. textiles, geo textiles, medical textiles and a Two years after his arrival in South Africa range of synthetic media.” Beier received an offer from Storm and Beier Envirotec’s combination of expertise Company to manage their new scouring plant. and experience in the Southern African Beier took on this new challenge with relish subcontinent ensures that it is able to offer and within two years not its customers the latest only was the plant exporting technology and world class to Europe but Beier himself service, while constant reached agreement to take investment in equipment and over the plant from Storms. people enables it to guarantee In essence this represented product quality of the highest The year that Beier the true birth of Beier standard and industry Envirotec can trace its leading performance. Industries, a business that history back to “Our core aim as a expanded rapidly as Beier business,” Sachs continues, capitalised on the vast potential for industrial development in South “is to be recognised by both our internal and Africa. What followed was the adoption of a external customers as the designer and supplier policy for diversification and expansion that of choice when it comes to engineered textile solutions and services. To put this into context, continues to this day. It was this policy that helped give rise what we are doing is not only supplying the to Beier Envirotec. Operating from the filtration products to help power stations and headquarters of Beier Industries in Pinetown, other facilities to meet emissions requirements, Beier Envirotec is recognised as being one of but also providing a team of people who the foremost producers of technical textiles, visit the plant in question and maintain the specialised media and filtration products in filtration equipment. There they perform tasks such as changing out filter bags, or measuring Southern Africa. “Under the leadership of our Managing plant performance and proposing changes, Director, Wolfgang Beier, who represents all of which allows us to provide a complete, the third generation of the Beier family, technically based turnkey solution.”
1929
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STANDERTON MILLS (PTY) LTD Standerton Mills (Pty) Ltd have been operating in South Africa for over 50 years, as spinners and weavers of industrial textile products. During this time, the company has developed close links with the mining and filtration industries and is well positioned at the forefront of textile materials for these industries, as well as servicing other markets closely associated with the company’s core activities. The company offers a broad range of products to suit virtually every textile need required by the mining and filtration industries, such products include • Scrims • Hose reinforcing • Release cloths
Proud suppliers of technical yarns and fabrics to Beier Envirotech.
Products include: • High temperature yarns. • Cotton yarns. • Spun polyester yarns. Scrims. Contact us for all your textile requirements…. www.standertonmills.co.za
Standerton Mills
• All types of industrial yarns and twines • Conveyor belt reinforcing • Household and apparel textiles Contact us for all your industrial textile requirements... www.standertonmills.co.za
Beier Envirotec
Beier strive to use the latest technical equipment
In addition to the imbedded strengths of the business there are also several external factors that are helping to drive the growth of the company today. One is the uptake throughout the developed world, particularly in core markets like Europe and China, of tighter environmental legislation regulating emissions from factories. South Africa meanwhile continues to grow
at a steady pace with the constant demand for power resulting in the construction of a new generation of power stations. “In recent times we have also shifted our focus towards the medical side of the business,” Sachs highlights. “This side of the company has grown in line with the increasing population of the country.” Another facet of Beier Envirotec, and indeed Beier Industries as a whole, is its commitment
“Beier Envirotec is recognised as being one of the foremost producers of technical textiles, specialised media and filtration products in Southern Africa” BE Monthly | 247
PROPET SA Using the highest quality of recycled polymer and small quantities of virgin polymer, Propet SA, a leading South African polyester producer, is capable of producing from a 0.9 Dtex fibre (microfiber) up to 22 Dtex polyester fibre, both in solid and hollow combinations used in all industry sectors (from traditional home textiles to personal hygiene as well as many industrial and geotextiles applications). Our ability to produce coloured, antimicrobial, low foam, hygiene, high tenacity, high elongation, hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibres enable us to be able to supply a diverse customer base. No matter the size of the client or the nature of the task ultimately we are always able
PROPET SA Propet SA, a leading South African polyester producer, places a strong emphasis on recycling and producing environmentally friendly polyester fibres. With the assistance of one of its group companies and own in-house recycled polymer facilities, Propet SA is responsible for recycling approximately 420 Million PET bottles per year and averting land fill space occupation of approximately 55,000 cubic meters per year. Telephone: +27 21 5212200 E. jorge@propetfibre.com
to develop close customer relations and create products which meet specific and individual needs. Propet concentrates primarily on supplying South Africa’s polyester requirements, yet at the same time we also maintain strong relationships and supplies throughout European markets, including the UK. For any queries, please contact our offices in Cape Town on 021 5212200 and speak with our sales and technical services teams about your needs. E. jorge@propetfibre.com
Beier Envirotec
Employee group photo
“It is the shared view of the board of directors that one of things we should assist with in the community is the development of young people” to social responsibility. “One of the things we have done for some time now,” Sachs states, “is sponsor an underprivileged school in the local vicinity. From here we strive to take at least one learner from their final year into university. We then look to employ these graduates at the end of their studies.” Beier Industries has also adopted a novel way of boosting skills development in the
local area by employing a chess tutor. “It is the shared view of the board of directors that one of things we should assist with in the community is the development of young people who have the ability to problem solve and chess is the perfect tool for that,” Sachs says. “In addition to chess we also run additional maths lessons for students on weekends. We do this in partnership with an
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Indian firm who have developed a form of teaching that encourages the use of tablets and other technology devices.� The last year and a half has seen the company undergo what can be best described as a complete manufacturing reorganisation. This undertaking has seen Beier Envirotec
streamline its processes, install new equipment in a number of manufacturing areas and broaden its skills set by employing new people in both its testing and quality areas. At the same time the company has made a few changes to its management structure across various departments in order
“Our core aim as a business is to be recognised by both our internal and external customers as the designer and supplier of choice�
Beier products on site
250 | BE Monthly
Beier Envirotec
Textile manufacturing equipment
to improve efficiency across the business. This is an exciting time for the company with it working on at least five new, highly novel products. This falls very much into line with Beier Envirotec’s core focus going forward and that is to achieve growth through new developments. “We were one of the first textile plants to receive ISO:9001 and ISO:14001 accreditation, and are now pushing forward with gaining ISO:13485,” Sachs concludes. “Furthermore, we are looking at expanding our export operations. We are well aware that a large
portion of our future growth will come from exports and thus we want to significantly grow this part of our business over the next three to five years. At the same time however we continue to ensure that as a company we continue to ensure that our business is correctly structured in terms of current legislation to drive growth in South Africa.” For more information about Beier Envirotec visit: www.beierenvirotec.co.za
BE Monthly | 251
Coresa
It’s in the bag
Managing director Jose Ignacio Arrate talks about Coresa’s range of plastic packaging solutions, and the company’s opportunities for expansion in South America
written by: Martin Ashcroft research by: Abi Abagun
252 | BE Monthly
Coresa storage silos allow for the temporary storage of cereals, pulses, fertilizers, pastures, feed, among others
Coresa
P
ackaging specialist Coresa was the world, but to be clear on what we mean established in Chile in 1966. here, it is also known in Latin America as a “We started making flexible ‘maxi saco’, and in English speaking countries containers from polypropylene in as a ‘bulk bag’. I’m sure you know what I the 1980s and also some fabrics mean. It’s the bag that your local building for specific applications,” says managing merchant uses to deliver a ton of sand, or the director Jose Ignacio Arrate, “so we’ve been agricultural merchant a ton of animal feed. making these products now for thirty years, It’s an essential product for bulk deliveries, and the company has been in existence for and Coresa has a consolidated capacity of nearly fifty years altogether.” more than 150,000 a month from its three The products he refers to are predominantly manufacturing facilities, one in Chile, one in bags and sacks for the packaging and Argentina, and one in Peru. transportation of commodities in a variety The Chilean factory is the heart of the of industries including fisheries and food, organisation, with 550 employees. The Coresa plant in Peru employs animal feed, mining and construction, although there 180 and Argentina 150. is also strong demand from The number of employees agriculture, in particular, in each facility reflects the for woven polypropylene or production capacity of each polyethylene fabric sheeting plant. “In Chile we have the The year that Coresa was used in containers, perimeter capacity for 100,000 tons of established fences, curtains, tents and extrusion per month, enough blankets, among other things. for seven million bags a It’s too easy to describe them as “bags and month,” says Arrate. “In Peru we have an sacks,” however, as this fails to convey the extrusion capacity of 400 tons a month, but multitude of different product lines Coresa we don’t produce fabrics in Argentina, we produces for individual customers and ship them in from Chile and produce bigbags applications. “Our product range uses over and sacks from the imported material.” a hundred different fabric specifications in Raw materials purchasing is centralised in terms of their properties, thickness and weight Chile, as also are the finance function and per square metre,” explains Arrate. “We have the ingredient ‘recipes’ for each product. different bags with different designs for the With three manufacturing facilities in three top and the bottom, for different sizes and different countries, however, and a reputation weights, which are all customised for each for quality to protect, consistent processes are client and each application.” essential across the board, so the plants are One of Coresa’s most successful products is integrated using the same ERP system. “We the ‘bigbag’, as Arrate refers to it. It probably have SAP R/3 in all our plants so we have has a different name in different parts of standardised processes for manufacturing,
1966
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management, accounting, buying, selling, accounts receivable, etc, in all three facilities,” says Arrate. “Everything is managed using SAP—the same platform in all three plants.” A major benefit from the close integration is that it allows Coresa to operate with a very lean management hierarchy at each plant. “We have the same machines in each plant,
we have a lean operation to avoid duplication and waste, and we have a really ultra-light back office in all of our plants,” says Arrate. “Our goal in manufacturing is to increase our productivity based on three pillars; efficiency, quality and safety. We set productivity goals for each machine and we monitor these shift by shift and day by day.”
“Our goal in manufacturing is to increase our productivity based on three pillars; efficiency, quality and safety” 258 | BE Monthly
Coresa
Coresa bags are manufactured to withstand industrial transportation
The machines themselves are top of the range, from one of the world’s most respected equipment manufacturers. “Almost all our machinery is Starlinger,” says Arrate, “the Austrian specialist manufacturer of sack making machinery.” Starlinger is famous for developing the patented Adstar bag for carrying cement, which is now one of Coresa’s core products. “We have two machines in Chile producing Adstar sacks for cement,” says Arrate. “They are paper sacks, but without any sewing. We have the capacity to manufacture two million of these bags every month in Chile, but we are also planning to start producing them in Argentina soon. We were the first company
in Latin America to make this bag when we introduced it in 1998.” In the thirty years that Coresa has been manufacturing bags and sacks, customer requirements have continued to evolve, so research and development has been an ongoing process. Innovation has been a constant preoccupation, and the company has successfully converted many new ideas into solutions for its customers. One of these is a type of tent used by cherry farmers to cover the trees when the fruit is maturing. Another solution has been developed to cover blueberry plants. “We also have new developments in sewing techniques for some of our customers.”
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“Environmental awareness is an issue all over the world, but with plastic, it’s more about final disposal than manufacturing”
Coresa container bags are designed to hold loads from 300-2500 kg
260 | BE Monthly
Coresa The company sells all over North and South America, and continues to look for opportunities to expand. “We are interested in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil,” says Arrate. “We are one the biggest in our industry in South America, we have a lot of experience, a recognised quality in the market and a flexible capacity to answer anything that is asked of us in terms of productivity and quality. We also have a capacity in Chile that could be redirected to produce a final product somewhere else. It’s easy for us nowadays to start a factory anywhere, using our SAP platform. We have a lot of strengths which we can use to start a new business from scratch.” Environmental awareness is an issue all over the world, but with plastic, it’s more about final disposal than manufacturing. “The manufacturing process from the extruder to the assembly of the product is actually a very clean process,” says Arrate. “We only need electricity to do it, and there’s a minimal amount of scrap that can’t be used again in another product. “There is a lack of public perception in South America about plastics recycling, however,” he continues. “It’s not as far advanced as it is in North America or Europe. We are just beginning to think about it here. You could not imagine
modern life without plastic products, so I think we will soon see better technology for recycling plastics, and also more education to teach people how to handle plastic packaging after it has been used. That is a big opportunity in Latin America.” On the social side of corporate social responsibility, Coresa is active in the areas in which it operates. “In San Antonio we have experience running soccer tournaments and other sporting activities, says Arrate, “and in Argentina the Christmas party for the whole town was held in our factory.” For more information about Coresa visit: www.coresa.cl
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Generating g
As Kenya’s energy demands continue to increase unabat is taking its role as the country’s leading electricity supp extremely seriously by developing new long-term power
written by: Will Daynes research by: Richard Halfhide
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Kengen
growth
ted, KenGen plier r solutions
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Wind turbine generator
Kengen
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o say that Kenya Electricity Today KenGen possesses a workforce of Generating Company Limited, or approximately 1,829 staff distributed across KenGen as it is more commonly 20 different sites where its power plants are recognised, plays an important located. The company utilises various sources role in the economic development to generate electricity ranging from hydro, of the African nation is, to all intents and geothermal, thermal and wind. Of these purposes, a gross understatement. The reason hydro is the leading source, with an installed for this is that KenGen alone is responsible for capacity of 766.88MW, which is 65 percent of producing almost 80 percent of the electricity the company’s installed capacity. consumed in the country. Kenya is rightfully proud of having KenGen’s history dates back to 1954. It was a liberalised marketplace and it is here then that the Kenya Power Company (KPC) that KenGen competes directly with four was first registered and was commissioned independent power producers, who between to construct a transmission line between them produce the remaining 20 percent of the country’s electric power. the city of Nairobi and Tororo in Uganda, as well as It is with this competition to develop geothermal and in mind that KenGen strives to maintain its position as other generating facilities in the country. The Nairobi the market leader in the - Tororo line was to transmit provision of reliable, safe, Potential future power generated at the quality and competitively power capacity of the Owen Falls Dam. priced electric energy. “With Olkaria complex From its inception, KPC the wealth of experience we possess, our established sold its electricity in bulk at cost to the Kenya Power and Lighting corporate base and a clear vision, we Company (KPLC), which ran the company believe we are perfectly placed to retain our under a management contract. This remained leadership position with the sector,” explains the case until January 1997 when the Geoffrey Muchemi, KenGen Director of management of KPC was formally separated Geothermal Projects. from KPLC as a result of new reforms and “For the foreseeable future,” Muchemi legislation brought in to regulate Kenya’s continues, “we aim to efficiently generate energy sector. competitively priced electric energy using state Come October 1998 KPC had re-launched of the art technology, while also leveraging itself under the name and corporate skilled and motivated human resources to identity that we now know at KenGen. It ensure financial success. Meanwhile, we shall was this act that saw KenGen take charge achieve market leadership by undertaking of all publicly owned power generating least cost, environmentally friendly capacity plants in the country. expansion. Consistent with our corporate
560mw
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Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. to Create the Sustainable Value With almost 40 years of experience, Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. has grown into a comprehensive engineering company which has the diverse business portfolio covering a number of areas including chemical plants, power plants, industrial plants, infrastructure and the environment, with a well accumulated level of high-quality technology expertise in design, procurement, commissioning and maintenance. Today the company is actively expanding into the renewable energy sector and expects the striving pace for the lasting value creation for humanity to allow it to secure future growth.
http://eng.hec.co.kr
FOR COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
Howard Humphreys is one of Eastern Africa’s leading consulting engineering and project management company and has been carrying out project management, engineering design and construction supervision of buildings, roads and transportation, water supply and sewerage projects in Eastern Africa since 1931. To date Howard Humphreys has carried out several major projects in the Eastern Africa region. The Company’s main fields of activity in East Africa can be classified under the following Service Lines: • Building and Structures • M&E Building Services • Project Management • Water and Sanitation • Safety, Health and Environment • Transportation and Roads & Bridges Telephone: (+254 20) 2063254/2660374 Cell Phones: 0724253431/0733625483 Email: info@howardhumphreys.co.ke www.howardhumphreys.com
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Kengen culture, our core values Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd will be adhered to in all our Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. is the only company to have operations.” a performance reference from the geothermal power plant Despite Kenya’s economic in the Republic of Korea, “Kenya Olkaria geothermal power advances in recent times it plant unit I & IV Project”. This was awarded in recognition is still a widely shared belief of its skills and competencies in the field of geothermal that the country’s power power plants, a field which has long been led by Japan, U.S. and European companies. sector remains in need of In addition, Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. is now standing major investment. This is in a competitive position within the market of combined evidenced by the fact that cycle power generation, coal-fired power plants, it is still many thousands cogeneration, diesel power generation, and transmission of MW short of being able and substation projects. to deliver total national eng.hec.co.kr coverage. Thankfully Kenya’s government and its energy sector are not oblivious to this need and are taking active steps to meet the said challenge. One answer is the major investment that is being made in geothermal energy projects. It is these such projects that KenGen anticipates will become its primary source of energy by 2020, and the basis for this growth will be its Olkaria power station projects. As of now there are three Olkaria plants active today, with Olkaria I and II producing a combined 115 MW of power, a figure that is set to be increased to 150 MW in the coming months. Olkaria III on the other hand produces 48 MW and its running is outsourced to Ormat Technologies. Water turbine generator
“KenGen alone is responsible for producing almost 80 percent of the electricity consumed in the country” BE Monthly | 267
“KenGen strives to maintain its position as the market leader in the provision of reliable, safe, quality and competitively priced electric energy” In 2012 the company hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Olkaria IV construction, a new 280 MW geothermal plant that KenGen expects to be ready for generation capacity by 2014. “Olkaria IV is an extension of the existing Olkaria I and
268 | BE Monthly
II plants, and is expected to cost around $1.3 billion to complete,” Muchemi states. “The development itself will be built across two physical plants, each of which will boast two 70 MW units.” The steam wells for the Olkaria IV project
Kengen
The Olkaria III power plant
have already been successfully drilled, while the well head generators are expected to be installed and begin generating power as the construction phase of the undertaking continues. The Olkaria IV project is co-financed by the Kenyan government through KenGen and by a series of development partners, including KfW, World Bank, JICA, the French development agency, and the European Investment Bank. With the addition of Olkaria IV, the complete Olkaria complex will further cement itself as being the largest geothermal power project in Africa, with output estimated to
register at 430 MW in total by 2014. The good news doesn’t end here however. Recent studies on the field on which Olkaria stands have raised hopes that the overall capacity of the project could in fact be increased to 560 MW in total in the years ahead. Should this be achieved it would make KenGen even more of a vital contributor to Kenya’s growing power requirements. For more information about KenGen visit: www.kengen.co.ke
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MANUFACTURING WORKWEAR & PPE FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Our vision is to be the preferred partner of choice for protective wear and PPE, and to maintain our reputation as leading manufacturers of uniform solutions for the markets in which we operate
A
malgamated Dress is a leading manufacturer of workwear and personal protective equipment (PPE). In order to be a true market leader, the company recognises that simply catering for the needs of the mass market is not sufficient enough. Amalgamated dress have the capability to manufacture bespoke products for the many international mining, drilling, construction and security companies. Clients are approached in a unique, case-by-case manner to
“ ProSafe is a widely recognised trademark in Zambia and is synonymous with high quality” 270 | be directory
ensure that their needs are met in the most effective and cost-efficient way. The company’s flagship brand, ProSafe is a widely recognised trademark in Zambia and is synonymous with high quality. Alongside the quality and popularity of the range, Prosafe products also adhere to international specifications. Amalgamated Dress initially started manufacturing workwear, but they are eager to keep abreast with changes in the market and are continuously expanding their product range to cater to their diverse clientele. As of today, they supply the full range of PPE and their manufactured product range encompass the full range of gloves, safety glasses, earplugs and respiratory equipment. Products move swiftly from the manufacturing source to the end users in the most efficient way, therefore clients can be confident
Amalgamated Dress
that they are not only receiving quality products, but are also receiving the best value for money. The Copperbelt is the mining hub of Zambia and Amalgamated Dress is strategically located in Ndola providing a central location to serve the mining community. Ndola also lies on the border of The Democratic Republic of Congo allowing the company to effectively export goods to the large mining community in the Katanga Province. As well as serving the Zambian market, Amalgamated Dress also exports to Malawi, Zimbabwe and Angola and is continuously looking for distributing partners to expand
their horizons within Africa. Our ever-growing network of distributing partners know their respective local markets and understand the importance of providing an efficient service to their clients.
AMALGAMATED DRESS Plot B3, President Avenue North, P.O. Box 240313 Ndola, Zambia T +260 212 611337 www.amalgamated-dress.com
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proudly serving the PRECIOUS METAL Assaying, Smelting and Refining Industries since 1959
A 3rd generation family owned business with a proud and long standing tradition of being an innovator in the industry and a manufacturer of quality, reliable equipment and consumable products
T
he “KEEGOR”® brand name is registered to Leonard Light Industries (Pty) Ltd, and has become synonymous with the quality, durability and efficiency that the precious metal Assaying and Refining industry demands of its suppliers, ensuring their integrity and reputation is upheld to the highest order (both as individual clients and as an industry combined). Designing and manufacturing our “KEEGOR”® brand products, we have
“ We provide on-site start-up assistance and commissioning of our equipment on 6 continents” 272 | be directory
steadily grown to become a leading supplier both locally and worldwide. We relish a challenge and recent unique milestone achievements include: • Design and commissioning of a multipour Assay Crucible system which pours a full furnace batch (up to 84 pots, dependent on size), in a single automated operation (simply at the push of a button). A single rig can service multiple furnaces, making it a cost effective option - especially for larger laboratories. • Complete containerised gold mine laboratory installation. We have a diverse range of products including equipment and consumables for Assay Laboratories & Smelting and Refining.
LEONARD LIGHT INDUSTRIES (PTY) Ltd
ASSAY LABORATORIES: • Assay Laboratory Equipment From small laboratory furnaces, consumables and hardware to complete containerised laboratories. • Fusion Furnaces Electric, gas or diesel fired – in a range of sizes. • Cupellation Furnaces Electric, gas or diesel fired – in a range of sizes. • Sample Preparation Equipment Sample Drying Equipment, Crushers, Pulverisers, Sample Splitters. • Consumables Cupels and other consumables. SMELTING AND REFINING: • Calcining/Drying Ovens In a range of sizes and configurations.
• Smelting Furnaces From small gas/diesel fired Smelters to Induction and Arc Furnace Installations. • Molten Metal And Slag Handling Equipment Bar Moulds, Slag Moulds and Slag Granulation Systems.
Leonard Light Industries (Pty) Ltd P.O. Box 5080 Benoni South, 1502 Republic of South Africa T + 27 11 421-0711 / 2 / 3 E info@keegor.co.za www.keegor.co.za
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MINING Recruiting
Spencer Ogden is the Energy recruiter of choice. By providing end to end full life cycle services within the Energy sector we are able to offer a 360 degree service to our Clients
W
ith a presence in all the major Energy hubs including the UK, Scotland, Middle East, Asia Pac and the United States we are strategically placed to accommodate our clients and candidates. With vast knowledge and experience within each sector of the energy market, we represent energy professionals at all levels and recruit for clients internationally within: Mining, Oil and Gas, Power
“ We strive to deliver the best quality service to both candidates and clients ” 274 | be directory
Generation, Nuclear, Renewable, Smart Energy, Finance and Trading. Energy recruiting is Spencer Ogden’s sole focus. We are able to provide a dedicated service, skills and expertise as one recruitment company we create opportunity for both clients and candidates. We strive to deliver the best quality service to both candidates and clients by having invested in the best people, infrastructure, services and training. Our mining solutions include: • Metallurgy and Processing • Mine Engineering (Production and Project) • Geosciences (Exploration, Production and Project) • Project Controls • HSEQ • HR
Spencer Ogden
• Civil & Structural • Design • Mechanical (Construction/ Commissioning) • Electrical (Instrumentation & Control/Construction/ Commissioning) • Maintenance (Fixed & Plant) • Management (Project and Mine Operation) • Local operator hire (specialist on site solutions) Our services: • Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) • On-site recruitment management • Contract, payroll and on-boarding solutions
• Permanent technical hire • Executive level search • Talent and market mapping • In-house research team (Mining analysts) • Market salary survey, local and expat analysis • Marketing campaign management (MCM)
Spencer ogden London Head Office 33 Charlotte Street London, W1T 1RR T +44 (0)207 2689 358 E mining@spencer-ogden.com www.somining.com
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Included The BE Mining Directory showcases leading mining organisations from across the world, ranging from big corporations to junior mines and their supply chains. Be seen throughout our portfolio of magazines: • BE Mining Directory • BE Mining • BE Weekly • BE Monthly •
To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com