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BusinessExcellence Weekly ISSUE No. 36 | www.bus-ex.com

Auriant Mining:

Auriant Mining’s aspiration is to become a mid-sized gold producer.

CEO Denis Alexandrov explains how

denel aerospace:

inorganic ventures:

ssg consulting:

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Richard Turner Director of sales rturner@bus-ex.com Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com Sharon Rooke Administration & Operations srooke@bus-ex.com Matt Day Head of technology mday@bus-ex.com Andy Turner Chief Executive aturner@bus-ex.com

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editorial Martin Ashcroft Editor In Chief

Martin has edited business magazines for 15 years and has been editor-in-chief since Business Excellence began in 2006. mashcroft@bus-ex.com

Will Daynes Editor

Will has been a business writer for three years. He joined the Business Excellence team in September 2012. wdaynes@bus-ex.com

CONTRIBUTORS George F. Brown, Jr.

A regular contributor with a wealth of case studies, George is CEO and cofounder of strategy consulting firm Blue Canyon Partners.

John Tschohl

Another regular, known as the “customer service guru”, John is founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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issue No.36 6 Comment: Customer service

Masters of the customer experience Compared with customer service giants like Metro Bank, Apple, and Amazon, what kind of value do you provide your customers?

10

10 Strategy

Growth choices

Which aspects of your business offer the greatest growth potential? A systematic approach to making this judgement can help leaders feel less like gamblers.

18

18 Auriant Mining

Discovering one’s potential Having existed as an exploration company up until recently, Auriant Mining’s aspiration is now to become a mid-sized gold producer.

28 Barrick South America The jewel in the crown

38

Barrick has a significant investment programme for South America in 2013, much of which is targeted to advance the construction of Pascua-Lama.

38 SSG Consulting The key to prosperity

How a lack of fear, a willingness to embrace innovation and good old fashioned family values have combined to create a leading project management consulting company.

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contents 46 Denel Aerostructures Making the transition

Chief executive officer Ismail Dockrat discusses the restructuring programme that has contributed to this South African success story.

46

56 Inorganic Ventures

Blending knowledge with passion How this leading manufacturer of certified reference materials is targeting the mining sector.

64 VIMA Group

The vision to succeed Chairman Zouzar Bouka explains his vision of a new Madagascar and how VIMA Group is making this a reality.

64

BE Directory

80

76 DORCE

Building a better world

78 Inorganic Ventures We flex to your specs

80 Jeffares & Green (J&G) Group Consulting engineers

82 RED DIRT PERSONNEL Resources for resources

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Comment: Customer service

I

am often asked how I define exceptional customer service. Here it is in a nutshell: speed, price, and technology— all built around service.

That definition is especially appropriate today, given the fast-paced life we live and the budget constraints many of us face. When we are looking to make a purchase, we want to do it conveniently, we want it now, and we want it at a good price. That is true whether we are purchasing a car or carpet cleaning, an air conditioner or airline tickets.

How do you provide that exceptional service? Take a good look at how you deal with your customers, from initial contact to closing the deal. Are you welcoming, whether customers walk through your physical doors or virtual doors? Do you call them by name? Do you have a smile on your face and in your face? Do you provide the information that will help them make an informed decision regarding their purchase? Do you deliver what you say you will as quickly as possible?

Let me give you examples of three companies that

go above and beyond to not only meet, but exceed, customer expectations. At Metro Bank in London, you can open an account in just 15 minutes, complete with checks, a debit card, and an account password. At other banks, that process would take at least two days.

Metro Bank has the most sophisticated technology of any bank in London, but it also focuses on the human touch. Real people answer its phones in one to two rings 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It also competes on price; customer checks are free, and customers can use their debit cards throughout the world—with no fees.

Metro Bank’s focus on speed, technology, and price has proven to be more than a little successful. It opened July 29, 2010 and today has more than 130,000 accounts and $2 billion in assets. It projects that it will have at least 5,000 employees and 200 offices in the greater London area by 2020.

Apple, the most valuable company in the United States—with more than $7,000 in sales per square

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“Metro Bank, Apple, and Amazon have incredible value because they create incredible value for their customers�

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Comment: Customer service foot at its Apple Stores— bases everything it does on speed. Walk into one of its stores, and an employee immediately greets you and asks what type of help you need. The employee then enters your information into a hand-held device and, when your name is called, another employee accesses that information and is ready to help you.

Apple’s focus on its products, and on going above and beyond in meeting its customers’ needs, has made it a service leader. It bases all of its product innovations on speed and, because it has such a strong brand, customers are willing to pay more for those products.

And those customers flock to its stores. In fact, each Apple Store averages 5,400 customer visits per week.

A mazon is anot her company that has realized great success by focusing

5,400 Average Apple store customer visits per week on speed, price, technology, and service. The company constantly attempts to eliminate cost—and then passes those savings on to its customers, which results in prices with which other companies have no chance of competing. In fact, Amazon is so competitive that is has sof t ware customers can use to scan a bar code in a retail store to see if Amazon has a better price for a specific product.

When it comes to speed, you’d be hard pressed to find any company that would beat Amazon. I get confirmation of my orders im mediately and am notified when my order has been shipped. The company

also offers its prime members free shipping and no sales tax.

Ever y t h i ng A ma zon does, it does to make buying its products easy for the customer. Combine that ease with state-of-theart technology and prices that are almost impossible to beat, and you can see why A mazon had $41 billion in sales during 2011, a 41 percent increase over 2010.

These three companies— Metro Bank, Apple, and Amazon—have incredible value because they create incredible value for their customers. They have mastered the customer experience. What value do you offer your customers?

Is it enough to keep them coming back to you? If you want to ensure the success of your business, give your customers the type of service that will keep them loyal for life.

John Tschohl, the internationally recognized service strategist, is founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Described by USA Today, Time, and Entrepreneur as a “customer service guru,” John’s monthly strategic newsletter is available online. www.customer-service.com

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Grow th

c

Wh gro ich thi wth aspec s ju pot t dge ent s of y me ial? our nt can A sys busin hel tema ess wri p le tic t te a der app nb s fe y: G el eor

ge F .

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Bro wn

Strategy

choi ces

offe r pro the g ach rea less to m test like a gam king n, J ble rs r.

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T

he lyrics to The Gambler focus on c hoices: “Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em”. For most businesses, identifying the best choice is among the most critical contributions of their planning process. Which business units or market segments or innovation concepts offer the greatest potential for profitable growth, and therefore represent the best use of scarce investment resources?

It’s always a challenge to assess accurately the growth potential that exists across a firm’s various business units and market segments.

Peter Drucker once observed “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Placing bets as to where growth can be realized will always require a bit of courage, but a systematic

approach to assessing growth potential can yield insights that clarify choices and lessen the extent to which business leaders feel like gamblers.

A process for gaining these insights involves looking at the market environment and other factors that characterize the position held by the business unit vis-à-vis its competitors.

Market considerations Three factors that reflect market considerations – headroom, market growth, and margin improvement opportunities – can be assessed across a firm’s business units or market segments.

The headroom metric emphasizes the extent to which the market offers sufficient room for growth.

The favourable end of the spectrum involves instances in which the existing business offers sufficient

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision” 12 | BE Weekly

Strategy

“factors that reflect market considerations are headroom, market growth, and margin opportunities” room for growth, while the less favourable end involves situations in which significant diversification or new business models are required.

When a business owns a commanding market share, a first pass look will always say there is sufficient room for growth, but that look can be misleading. The more appropriate approach is suggested by an analogy drawn from the recent US Presidential elections. We frequently heard about states that were “solid red” or “solid blue”, ones that were virtually certain to be in the camp of one candidate or the other.

The same is true of markets and customers. An accurate assessment of headroom must look for the equivalent of “swing states”, those which could realistically be won by the business unit in question.

Market growth is the second key factor to assess.

It is always a major plus to be selling into growth, rather than having to take share from existing suppliers. The most favourable indicator of solid growth potential is when market growth is at or above the growth rate goals of the business unit.

Slightly less favourable, but still attractive, are those situations in which a unit’s growth goals can be realized by capturing a larger-thannormal share of the growth increment in the markets in which it participates. The most challenging situation involves a requirement that business be taken from competitors in order to realize growth goals.

Part of the assessment of market growth involves looking at not only currentlyserved markets, but also those that are viewed as nearby or adjacent. Most western firms can identify market growth if they include

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emerging markets like China and India. Less extreme, but equally frequent, are assessments that identify adjacent vertical markets or product line extensions that offer meaningful growth increments.

Including such additional markets in the assessment of growth potential can be quite misleading, and should only be done if there is truly a base upon which to build and if movement into such nearby or adjacent markets can be

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done without a significant shift in the business models operating within the firm.

The third factor in this cluster focuses on margin improvement opportunities, which are closely linked to the intensity of pricing pressures. Capacity balance, barriers to entry, healthy markets, and strong customer relationships are the factors that yield positive scores in this dimension. Excess capacity, ease of entry for competitors with look-alike

products, troubled markets, and distant arms-length relationships with customers are characteristics of the unfavourable end of the spectrum.

Also relevant is the importance of pricing to the success of the business unit being evaluated. There are several factors that define how important pricing is to a business. One is the degree to which profit swings are dictated by pricing, instead of being driven by

Strategy

“the most important aspect of the assessment is the comparison of a business unit’s position to that of its competitors” volume, productivity, cost management, etc. Another factor is the extent to which customers’ purchase decisions swing quickly in response to price changes. Situations in which customers use dual source supply

relationships often result in such swings. Vulnerability to commodity price swings is a third factor defining the importance of pricing.

The best circumstance is one where there is low intensity of pricing pressures and pricing is only of limited importance to the firm’s profitability. In this instance the firm has many options available and can select those that are most likely to foster long-term profitable growth.

The worst situation is one in which intense pricing pressures are combined with a high importance of price as the main determinant of success.

Positioning considerations A second set of factors focuses on positioning visà-vis the competition. Here, once again, there are three factors that can be assessed: purchase decision factors,

short-term fit, and business drivers. There are market factors that affect all three of these metrics, but the most important aspect of the assessment is the comparison of a business unit’s position to that of its competitors.

The quality of positioning involves the match (or lack of it) between a business unit’s competitive strengths and the top factors that affect customers’ purchase decisions. If customers are focused on price, then a cost advantage is critical to a firm’s growth prospects.

If customers are focused on technology and leading-edge products, then advantages along those dimensions will be more important.

Most markets are made up of multiple niches, with some customers focusing on price, others on product leadership, and others perhaps on service offerings.

In assessing a business unit’s

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position in terms of purchase decision factors, therefore, a firm that is well positioned in product leadership cannot claim strength in this factor if product leadership in this segment is only a small niche factor.

The short-term fit assessment involves firstmover advantages, sales model and channel advantages, major customer relationships, and the relevance of the installed base. While choices as to growth priorities shouldn’t focus on the potential for quick successes alone, gaining a head start on the competition can be a factor contributing to longterm success.

The other elements of this assessment involve different short-term considerations.

The focus on sales model and channel advantages reflects the challenges that always exist when a firm

has to make changes to its existing business model.

Avoiding these challenges is an important factor in getting to market quickly.

There is an important future dimension to the assessment of business drivers as well. Often, short-lived successes are associated with mismatches between the offer brought to the market and changes that take place in the business environment. The best growth choices are those that remain relevant and deliver value to customers under all of the likely scenarios that define the future business environment.

Assessing growth potential We have defined six metrics, three involving market considerations and three involving positioning considerations, which can be used to evaluate the relative

growth potential of business units or the segments in which they operate.

Accurate assessment along each of these dimensions is complex and involves many considerations.

One of the lessons that has emerged from this process is that ‘red flags’ along any of

“identifying the red flags for each of my business units will define my action plan priorities for 2013” 16 | BE Weekly

Strategy

these dimensions have to be viewed with great concern.

Pluses and minuses don’t neatly average out. One executive commented that “The greatest value that came from this exercise was identifying the red flags for each of my business units.

That will define my action plan priorities for 2013.”

The lyrics to The Gambler also include advice as to the importance of “knowin’ what to throw away and knowin’ what to keep”. At least over the medium term, it’s possible to change some of

the factors relating to growth potential, much as a gambler can change some of the cards in his or her hand.

Being able to identify the business units or market segments where investments will yield rewards is a critical element of business

planning. A systematic process of examining the relative strengths of each business unit or market segment in terms of both market considerations and positioning can allow for scarce resources to be targeted at the best opportunities.

George F. Brown, Jr. is the CEO and cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc., a management consulting firm working with leading business suppliers on growth strategy.

Along with Atlee Valentine Pope, he is also the author of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs. www.bluecanyonpartners.com

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Discovering one’s potential Having existed as an exploration company up until recently, Auriant Mining’s aspiration is now to become a mid-sized gold producer.

CEO Denis Alexandrov explains how the company is perfectly placed to achieve this

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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Auriant Mining

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U

ntil recently, gold mining in Russia was a wholly state monopolised industry, one with a history that dates back over 300 years to when the first gold bullion was poured at Nerchinsky mines in 1702. Indeed, it was during the era of the Soviet Union that, through substantial levels of government sponsorship, the industry experienced its most recent exploration boom period, with upwards of 6000 geologists estimated to have been working in the Soviet Union at one time.

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it a swift end to this period of prosperity and an end to major exploration investments. Nevertheless, gold and other precious resources remained hidden beneath Russia’s soil and this created a gap in the market that companies are to this day attempting to fill.

Formerly known as Central Asia Gold AB, Auriant Mining is a Swedish junior mining company, listed on Stockholm’s NASDAQ First North stock exchange, focused specifically on gold production in Russia, primarily in the Zabaikalskiy region and the Republics of Khakassia and Tuva.

“In many ways,” explains chief executive officer, Denis Alexandrov, “2012 has been a transformational year for us, what with the appointment of a new board of directors and the commissioning of the heap leach at our Tardan mine.” The independent, five man board of directors Denis refers to bring together a wealth of experience from a number of fields, from mine engineering to geology, while the commissioning of

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One of the open pits at Tardan

Auriant Mining

“2012 has been a transformational year for us with the appointment of a new board of directors and the commissioning of the heap leach at our Tardan mine” Tardan has taken the company to the next level of its development.

In addition, Auriant Mining today boasts an entirely new, experienced management team, while its non-executive board members include heavyweights such as Lord Peter Daresbury, an expert in mining and the CIS in particular, and Andre Bekker, a gold mining veteran and leading geologist from South Africa. Meanwhile,

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the company has made great strides in improving the individual management teams based at its mines.

“Previously,” Alexandrov continues, “we existed mainly as an exploration company with very limited production capacities.

With the commission of Tardan we have become a self-sustainable business and are now able to finance our own exploration activities.” Both Tardan and Auriant

Auriant Mining

Start of a new heap leach at Tardan

Mining’s other core producing asset, which we expect to result in increased Solcocon in Zabaikalye, are gold deposits, reserves at the mine and therefore increase with ore processed through heap leaching the life of the asset.”

In addition to the mine itself, the company and gravitational technologies.

Located north of the Mongolian border holds an exploration license for 540 square in the Republic of Tuva, the mine of Tardan kilometres of land around Tardan, upon which was built upon a reserve of approximately it has already identified a number of satellite 7.5 tonnes of gold. “At deposits that it believes can present,” Alexandrov says, be brought into production at “the installed capacity at its existing facilities.

Tardan is between one and Solcocon, meanwhile, 1.2 tonnes per year, with possesses some 16 tonnes our target being to produce of gold in reserve, separated up to one tonne of gold here into two different deposits per year by the end of 2014. w ith Auriant Mining Of core to be drilled In that same time we intend currently mining one of at Tardan by the to drill approximately these. Here, installed end of 2014 20,000 metres of core, capacity is between 200

20,000 metres

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and 250 kilogrammes per year, with plans is much more of a greenfield exploration in place to gradually increase this to 500 project,” Alexandrov highlights, “in a very kilogrammes in 2014. “Much like Tardan,” promising area. It is here where we are Alexandrov states, “our plan for Solcocon operating solely as an exploration company, is to explore the flanks of the deposits investing capital in order to identify future to add more reserves to our balance drilling targets and new deposits.” sheet. We will then upgrade our existing Auriant Mining is also a part of a joint infrastructure, aiming to venture partnership with increase production to one Centerra Gold, a large, tonne per year.” established gold miner, As wel l as t he where together they operate an exploration project called aforementioned assets, Kara-Beldyr. An extremely the company also holds promising project that has an exploration license already yielded NI 43-101 that covers the Uzhunzhul Analyst estimates for resources of approximately anomalies group in the gold production in 2013 Republic of Khakassia. “This 500,000 ounces, this project

1,200

kilogrammes

Tardan camp and mill

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Auriant Mining

“What links all of Auriant Mining’s activities is the company’s primary goal and that is to establish itself as a mid-sized gold producer” continues the excellent relationship that the two partners have had for several years now.

What links all of Auriant Mining’s activities is the company’s primary goal to establish itself as a mid-sized gold producer. “Our existing production targets,” Alexandrov goes on to say, “will take production up to around 60,000 ounces a year, a figure that brings us just short of

being an intermediate producer. It is our belief that the next jump in production will in fact come from new discoveries that exist around our current assets, so that is where we will be focusing our exploration assets in the coming years.”

The on-going progress and potential for growth in the future were the key themes that the company recently took the opportunity to put across as part of its participation at the ninth annual RMG Exploration and Mining Investment Conference in Stockholm.

“Our key goal here,” Alexandrov enthuses, “was really to introduce the company to the mining community, particularly those who would not have been aware of us beforehand, and to highlight the fact that this is a new company, with a new management structure, secure cash flows and proven assets, that is ready to take off.”

The vast majority of junior mining companies that are today at the exploration stage of their development don’t have the luxury of being able to rely upon the revenues generated from existing operations. This is what makes Auriant Mining somewhat special and what makes it well placed to achieve its future ambitions.

“While there are other junior exploration companies in Russia, we are one of the only

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Auriant Mining Gold dore being produced at Tardan

ones to be producing gold and generating revenue from gold production. This puts us in the enviable position of being able to cover our costs without having to go to the market to raise fresh equity. On top of this, we have a very supportive majority shareholder who has always supported the company in any way he can.”

In 2013, analysts expect Auriant to double the production achieved in 2012.

This represents a guidance of around 1200 kilogrammes of gold for the full year. The biggest contribution to this will come from Tardan with more than 600 kilogrammes, while analysts expect 330 kilogrammes or more from Solcocon.

These figures are possible due to the continued ramp up in Tardan and the expected improvement in productivity at Solcocon.

“Over the next couple of years,” Alexandrov concludes, “the focus of the company will undoubtedly be exploration.

The reason for this is that we confidently predict that the future success of the business revolves around our ability to make new discoveries and bring new mines into production. That is our core goal, however it is not one that can be achieved in only two or three years. Therefore, immediate growth will continue to come from existing assets, while longer term prosperity will come from new finds.”

For more information about Auriant Mining visit: www.auriant.com

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The jewel in

Barrick has a significant investment programme for So of which is targeted to advance the construction of Pas bi-national mine, expected to be operational in the sec

written by: Martin Ashcroft research by: Dan Finn

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Barrick South America

n the crown

outh America in 2013, much scua-Lama, the world’s first cond half of 2014

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Barrick Gold’s Veladero mine in San Juan province, Argentina

Barrick South America

W

ith the acquisition of Placer Dome in 2006, Barrick Gold Corporation became the largest gold mining company in the world.

Barrick’s holdings in South America include the Pierina and Lagunas Norte gold mines in Peru, the Veladero gold mine in Argentina, the Cerro Casale project in Chile, and the world class Pascua-Lama project on the Chile/Argentina border.

With a mine life estimated at 25 years, Pascua-Lama is the current jewel in the crown, but as the world’s first bi-national mine it has required a complex series of negotiations with two national governments. At an elevation of up to 5,200 meters, this is also the highest altitude project Barrick has ever tackled, and it raises many unique logistical challenges.

Nevertheless, it is destined to become one of the most important mines in Barrick’s global portfolio, with proven and probable reserves of 17.8 million ounces of gold, and an additional prize of 671 million ounces of silver. Construction has advanced steadily, with production expected to commence in the second half of 2014. At the end of November 2012 the tunnel to transport the ore between Argentina and Chile was approximately 60 percent complete, and 90 percent of the materials and equipment required for the process plant had already been committed.

During the first five years of production, Barrick expects an average of 800,000 and 850,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Another project in development is Cerro Casale, 130 kilometres north of the

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Engineering - Construction - Erection

Always working for a better future fabrications, tanks, electromechanical erections, piping, maintenance, industrial installations and turn key projects.

HAUG S.A. www.haug.com.pe Av. Argentina 2060, Callao – Peru t: (511) 6134545 comercial@haug.com.pe

Seen

Contact us today and put your company in the spotlight!

vincent@bus-ex.com

Barrick South America Pascua-Lama project in HAUG S.A. the Maricunga district of HAUG S.A. was contracted by Barrick Exploraciones Chile. This project holds Argentinas S.A. for the fabrication and erection works of 38 estimated gold reserves that field welded tanks and 14 thickeners for the Pascua Lama currently stand at a massive Project, an open pit mining project that straddles the border 23.2 million ounces, but of Chile and Argentina. HAUG’s offices for the project are exploration is still in progress located in the Province of San Juan on the Argentinean side, where they have over 400 highly specialized and there may be even more. employees and workers, a number that will double as the Cerro Casale was originally project advances. a 50/50 exploratory joint comercial@haug.com.pe venture between Barrick and Kinross Gold Corporation, but early in 2010, Barrick acquired an additional 25 percent interest from Kinross, increasing its interest in the project to 75 percent. The construction phase will last about three years and the life of the mine is estimated at approximately 20 years, with average annual production expected to reach one million ounces of gold and 110,000 tonnes of copper.

Now with a controlling interest, Barrick is keen to use the lessons learned in PascuaLama to good effect and where possible, leverage synergies in the design and construction of Cerro Casale. This is one of the largest undeveloped gold-copper deposits in the world and it is envisaged that it will one day exceed the production anticipated at Pascua-Lama.

Mine construction As well as these two stellar development

“As the world’s first bi-national mine, Pascua-Lama has required a complex series of negotiations with two national governments” be weekly | 33

957,000 Ounces of gold produced at Veladero in 2011

The Pascua-Lama project zone

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projects, Barrick can also count on a solid portfolio of mines already in production.

The Veladero mine, located in the San Juan Province of Argentina, is immediately south of the Pascua-Lama property in the highly prospective Frontera District. Veladero has two open pits, Filo Federico and Friendly and has an estimated life of 14 years. The mine has been in production since 2005 and in 2011 produced 957,000 ounces of gold at a total cash cost of $353 an ounce.

The proven and probable mineral reserves at 31 December, 2011 were 10.6 million ounces of gold.

Moving to Peru, Barrick has the Pierina mine, located in the Andean Cordillera in the Department of Ancash. This mine has proven and probable mineral reserves of 791,000 ounces of gold, and although it is relatively more expensive to produce than in other mines, rising gold prices have recently seen the mine’s life extended to the end of 2014.

This is a standard open-pit, truck-and-loader operation, similar to Veladero.

Also in Peru is the Lagunas Norte mine, located on the Alto Chicama property in north-central Peru and 175 kilometers north of Pierina. The property lies on the western flank of the Peruvian Andes at an elevation

Barrick South America

Zaldivar copper process facility

of 4,200 meters above sea level. The open pit mine began operations in the second quarter of 2005, ahead of schedule, and involved an investment in construction of $340 million.

In 2011, Lagunas Norte produced 763,000 ounces of gold at an attractive total cash cost of $269 per ounce, and had proven and probable reserves of 6.2 million ounces of gold at 31 December 2011.

In all its operations in South America, Barrick is guided by a vision to lead the industry in finding, acquiring, developing and producing quality reserves in a safe, profitable and socially responsible manner.

The company wants to see the region’s natural resources play a key role in supporting longterm sustainable economic development and facilitating this process is a corporate priority.

Barrick is already a signatory to a number of voluntary codes and initiatives that address a range of economic, social and environmental issues. These include the Carbon Disclosure Project, the International Cyanide Management Code, Transparency International (Canada) and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. The company has also been an active member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) since 2005.

“Although its primary focus is on gold, Barrick also has significant interests in copper in South America� be weekly | 35

Barrick’s primary focus is on gold

Barrick South America

25 years Estimated life of Pascua-Lama mine This is an initiative which directly involves business in tackling some of the major social and environmental challenges that arise from globalization.

Barrick’s achievements were publicly acknowledged yet again in 2012 when it was ranked as a global leader in corporate social responsibility for the fifth consecutive year by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. The DJSI World Index independently evaluates 2,500 companies using rigorous criteria in the areas of corporate, economic, environmental, and social performance to identify the top 10 per cent of performers.

Although its primary focus is on gold, Barrick also has significant interests in copper in South America. The Atacama desert has some of the largest porphyry copper deposits ever found, a geological legacy that has made Chile and Peru the first and second largest exporters of copper in the world.

In 2011, Barrick’s Zaldívar copper mine in Chile produced 292 million pounds of copper at a total cash cost of $1.50 per pound. The proven and probable mineral reserves at 31 December 2011 were 6.6 billion pounds.

For more information about Barrick South America visit: www.barricksudamerica.com

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The key to prosperity

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SSG Consulting

Chief executive officer Steven Golding explains how a lack of fear, a willingness to embrace innovation and good old fashioned family values have combined to create a leading project management consulting company

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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T

he concept of family values is one that stretches across all four corners of the world. From the United States to Brazil, South Africa to China, the concept of family exists as a fundamental building block of society. In each of these countries and beyond one will find a multitude of businesses that adopt family values as a part of their core philosophy, yet perhaps no better example can be found than SSG Consulting.

“We are a company,” explains chief executive officer, Steven Golding, “that is very much built on a Christian foundation with the concept of family very much at the heart of what we are all about.” Formed in late 2007, SSG Consulting has developed rapidly in the years since, based almost exclusively on previous relationships with clients and their founders. Possessing collective experience of more than half a century within the field of project management, the company is ideally placed to service a growing client base within the infrastructure, energy, mining and petrochemical industries.

“Embracing innovation and having a lack of fear,” Golding continues, “are two of the core characteristics that define us as a company. We are a relatively young crowd, by comparison, with an average management age of under-50 and we believe that this comes across in the way that we approach each task with a degree of boldness and energy that others may lack.”

Looking at the company’s offering, it provides services through four different spectrums, those being project execution, consultation, the SSG Training Academy and

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The company serves a growing client base within the infrastructure, energy, mining and petrochemical industries

SSG Consulting

2007 The year SSG Consulting was formed

SSG provides project execution services

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its KEY360 management system. KEY360 was borne out of the company’s frustration based on years of experiencing business and project management systems that often did not facilitate the basic function that they themselves were designed to perform.

“As part of executing our projects,” Golding states, “we soon realised that effective data management and having the ability to work with a large number of documents, and present them back to our clients efficiently, required a system that did not come close to existing within the marketplace at the time. It was our own internal requirements that drove us to develop what is now a commercially successful product and one that we, quite boldly, predict will result in a scenario where, in a matter of years, no mega-projects under construction anywhere in the world will run without KEY360 being used somewhere in the fold.”

The human aspect of the KEY360 system has similarly been a major contributing factor to its success, as Golding goes on to highlight. “A lot of what we try to do as a company, both internally and with our clients, involves energising and motivating people.

What KEY360 does is provide its users with the ability to monitor people in such a way that it can improve efficiency, output and collaboration. Actually being able to watch

SSG Consulting

KEY360 was created to provide effective data management

people grow and mature in the field, thanks in part to the use of KEY360, is definitely one of the most exciting and inspiring things that comes from the work that we do.”

It is messages like this that SSG Consulting intends to take with it to the 2013 Investing in African Mining, INDABA, event in Cape Town this coming February. “We think that this INDABA is going to be a massive springboard for a lot of investment,” Golding says, “and Key360 was built for that exact purpose.”

Investors across Africa are today in the process of establishing assets and, as

an investor, having access to up-to-theminute information regarding said assets is fundamental. In reality, most project management information that is delivered at present is not real-time. KEY360 on the other hand is specifically designed to provide minute-by-minute data that is available to all stakeholders, making it an incredible tool that gets information to where it should be quickly, accurately and in a useful format.

This, in turn, helps get the assets in question up and running faster, and in a more cost effective manner.

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“KEY360 is specifically designed to get information to where it should be quickly, accurately and in a useful format�

Effective management systems assist the physical execution of the project

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SSG Consulting The need to be on top of information when establishing an asset is clearly the core message that the company is hoping to put across at the INDABA event. “Information,” Golding reveals, “is what we, in our experience, find actually costs projects the most in terms of time and money. The reason being that, while technical solutions are more often than not fine, it is the physical execution of the project in terms of pure management and data management that holds back the process. This fact makes it all the more important that KEY360 has the ability to become a networking tool those involved in establishing assets have an understanding early on of the opposed to against one another.” importance of using effective management Providing companies with a platform that systems that provide the information that is allows them to work together seamlessly is yet needed, when it is needed.” another example of the way SSG Consulting KEY360 was developed at the same is able to bring innovative ideas to the fore. time as, and very much inspired by, the “Innovation,” Golding concludes, “as well explosion in popularity of social networking, as the way in which KEY360 works and, of driven by the likes of Facebook and similar course, the way in which we as a company programmes. What KEY360 was designed execute business are the things that have to create however is what SSG Consulting enabled us to get where we are today, and defines as corporate networking. “In some they remain the aces up our sleeves that cases,” Golding enthuses, “we have examples will allow us to remain relevant in an everof upwards of 50 companies working together changing market.” on a single piece of software. This is unheard of anywhere else and goes to prove that KEY360 For more information about has the ability to become a networking tool SSG Consulting visit: that gives different parties the opportunity www.ssgconsulting.co.za to work together in establishing assets, as

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Denel Aerostructures

Making the transition CEO Ismail Dockrat discusses the restructuring programme that has contributed to this South African success story

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CEO of Denel Aerostructures, Ismail Dockrat

Denel Aerostructures

I

n the nearly two decades since 1994, air “At the time that I joined the business,” travel into South Africa has increased by Dockrat explains, “Denel Aerostructures was approximately 70 percent. In fact, during very much in need of undergoing a major the month long staging of the 2010 FIFA transition in order to become a 21st century World Cup alone it is estimated that over aerostructures manufacturing company. one million foreigners visited the country. In order to bring about a major overhaul These figures go some way to highlighting in our manufacturing processes we had to the reason why the aviation sector in this part undertake a massive turnaround programme of the world has undergone such tremendous that consisted of eight core objectives.” growth in recent times.

The first thing the company needed With a heritage that dates back to the to do was align itself with South Africa’s establishment of Atlas Aircraft Corporation national aerospace objectives. The country’s in 1964, Denel Aerostructures is recognised government has identified the aerospace as being one of the leading players in the sector as a priority for job creation and fields of aircraft development economic growth and Denel and manufacture in Aerostructures has made Sout h A f r ic a.

T he the concerted effort to become a leading proponent company’s core capabilities of its Aerospace Sector include comprehensive Development Plan for the desig n, development, Increase in air travel in country. industrialisation and the South Africa since 1994 assembly of fixed and rotary “One of the most important wing aerostructures for things I was tasked with the global market. Past and from an early stage,” Dockrat present clients include the likes of Gulfstream, continues, “was devising a credible business Saab, BAE Systems, AgustaWestland and its plan on which a recapitalisation of the business could be based. Successfully doing so main customer, Airbus.

Today the company is led by chief executive has allowed us to turn the corner from being officer, Ismail Dockrat. Having spent much a loss making business.” Equally as important of his career in the defence and aerospace in this context was the restructuring of the industry, Dockrat joined Denel in 2006, first company’s work programmes. as the chief executive officer of Denel Aviation, As well as bringing several programmes before moving across to Denel Aerostructures to a constructive end, this prompted the in 2010. It was at this time that the company company to sit down with Airbus and was in the midst of difficult economic times, renegotiate its existing contracts for caused through a combination of factors the A400M military transport aircraft including inherited operational weaknesses programme. It was the implementation of a and the on-going global economic downturn. focused operational turnaround that allowed

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2006 Chief executive officer, Ismail Dockrat joins Denel

Denel Aerostructures is home to the largest special processes facility in the southern hemisphere

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these renegotiations to be successful. This turnaround has led to an improvement in the company’s throughput, the introduction of lean manufacturing principles throughout its operation and an increase in its delivery performance. These factors have prompted Airbus to make a long-term commitment to Denel Aerostructures.

Due to the state of the business at the time of Dockrat’s arrival, one of the more necessary steps that needed to be taken was a process of cost-cutting initiatives. This included reducing the physical footprint of the company by twothirds. By reducing the amount of ground it occupied from 75,000 square metres to 25,000 square metres, and by reorganising its production work flows, the company was able to make considerable savings in terms of rental, labour and infrastructure costs.

Being a time of great change, it also fell to Dockrat and those around him to improve the motivation levels of the company’s workforce.

“We have always had a fantastic team here,” Dockrat enthuses, “however motivation levels at the time that I joined were not where they should have been. To improve this we put in a lot of time and effort to really connect with our workforce, engaging with them on all levels and involving them in the decision

Denel Aerostructures

Denel Aerostructures’ capabilities include advanced design and engineering.

Above is an image of the wing to fuselage fairing size in relation to a person

making process regarding how we can take the business forward.”

Another complex undertaking required the company to effectively overhaul its entire supply chain management system. This process allowed it to delegate certain areas of work to local suppliers, things like simple sheet metal work, while refocusing itself on more complex tasks that mix high-end machining and hand-layup composite work with a design element.

“One of the most exciting things for us right now,” Dockrat states, “is the development of new business. We have a strong foundation of work with the likes of Airbus and Gulfstream and we are now actively engaging with all major aerospace OEMs and tier one aerostructure manufacturers to secure new work for the company.”

Last, but not least, the final objective of the turnaround was to achieve good financial governance and a strong control of all

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internal controls. Achieving this has helped reassure the company’s stakeholders that it is managing its balance sheet in a responsible manner. “When it comes to all the different aspects of our turnaround programme,” Dockrat says, “we are immensely pleased that we have managed to meet all of the objectives that we first set ourselves back in 2010.”

Arguably the most interesting project that the company finds itself involved in today is the wing-to-fuselage fairing (WFF) work being carried out on the A400M for Airbus.

A highly technical undertaking, the WFF is a large structure that sits on top of the aircraft where the wing section connects to the fuselage.

“Arguably the most interesting project the company is involved with is the wing-to-fuselage fairing (WFF) work being carried out on the A400M for Airbus”

Denel Aerostructures is involved in three work packages for the A400M, the top shells, ribs swords and spars and the wing to fuselage fairing

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Denel Aerostructures

Denel Aerostructures team – together we “Make It Fly”

“Made up of hundreds of composite panels,” Dockrat details, “the WFF has an aluminium frame, the lightness of which has contributed greatly to Airbus’ efforts to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft. In the process of creating this structure we have developed a global excellence in terms of weight saving for our industry and that is something we are extremely proud of.”

The structural and system interfaces of the WFF meant that Denel Aerostructures had to have a digital infrastructure in place that allowed it to communicate and exchange information in real time with all other

partners within the A400M programme. “We are very excited with the progress we have made to date with this programme,” Dockrat says, “and as we now enter the production phase we find ourselves in the perfect position to initiate an accelerated ramp up for Airbus.”

Last November, the company made its presence felt at the 2012 AIRTEC International Aerospace Supply Fair, where Dockrat himself delivered a keynote speech. “Some of the most interesting talks at the conference,” he reveals, “were those that examined, at a broader level, what the future will hold for air travel. I personally feel that this century

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Denel Aerostructures’ world class capabilities include Denel Aerostructures specialises an assembly line; above is the top shell assembly in house Zimmermans allow fo

“Future plans involve establishing a greater footprint in other aerospace markets, namely the business and commercial aircraft sectors” will be a hugely exciting and defining time for everyone involved in this industry, particularly when you look at all that has been achieved to get us to where we are today and all that is predicted to come, what with the rise of numerous developing economies. It certainly makes for exciting

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reading for us when you think that we have really only just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of how we are applying advanced materials in composite structures in the development of aircraft.”

Looking ahead, Denel Aerostructures’ future plans involve establishing a greater

Denel Aerostructures

s in advanced manufacturing. Two or expertise in thin web machining

Ismail believes in being hands on within the factory. Mr Dockrat interacts with the shopfloor, and is taught by his colleagues what their job entails

footprint in other aerospace markets, namely the business and commercial aircraft sectors.

“As a result of the work we have on-going with Airbus,” Dockrat says, “as well as that which we have carried out for the likes of Saab and BAE Systems, we believe we have earned a very strong reputation in the marketplace and that is something we want to build on.”

In the commercial aircraft sector, two major procurements on the horizon, involving the regional, state-owned carrier SA Express and South African Airways respectively, bode well for Denel Aerostructures. “What we are doing,” Dockrat concludes, “is actively pursuing

engagement with the likes of Embraer, Bombardier, Airbus Commercial and Boeing Commercial in order to position ourselves appropriately to win business on these programmes. While we have to ensure that we remain competitive in the marketplace, we must also remain realistic and that means identifying the type of work that fits into our technology base. This is what we believe will be the key to our success.”

For more information about Denel Aerostructures visit: www.denelaerostructures.com

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written by: Will Daynes research by: Stephen Vivian

Blending knowledge with passion For the better part of three decades Inorganic Ventures has been a leading manufacturer of certified reference materials and is now targeting the lucrative mining sector

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Inorganic Ventures

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QC chemist Heather Fisher-Clarke prepares a sample for the ICP

Inorganic Ventures

R

egardless of the size of the operation or where on the planet it is taking place, one of the most fundamentally important, but often overlooked, phases of the mining process is the testing of materials that are extracted from the earth. It may sound like one of the least important undertakings companies have to face, what with the massive costs and labour intensive nature of processes such as exploration and production, yet it is only after accurate tests have come back with positive results that these phases of the project can commence.

Headquartered in Christiansburg, Virginia, Inorganic Ventures has, since 1985, been manufacturing high quality certified reference materials. It is capable of making almost any reference material for inductively coupled plasma (ICP), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), ion chromatography (IC), atomic absorption, wet chemistry and quality control applications.

The company’s distribution network, operated from its foreign distribution centre in Madrid, covers North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

The first inorganic certified reference materials manufacturer to be accredited to ISO Guide 34 and to offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, it is quality and customer service that defines Inorganic Ventures. “Our speed of delivery and turnaround times,” explains executive vice president, Michael Scott, “are second to none and really help differentiate ourselves from others in the industry.”

With stock items leaving the same day as ordered and custom blends taking no more

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than five days to manufacture, the company is able to guarantee these turnaround times anywhere in the world. “As a business,” states vice president of operations, Christopher Gaines, “we focus on doing one thing and we believe very firmly on doing it the best.”

Rather than being a catalogue house, what Inorganic Ventures does is manufacture one product and that is inorganic certified reference materials for certain instrumentations. In complementing this it places a great deal of time and resources into delivering technical support and educating clients on how to do a better job of analysing their test results through various books and articles.

“A lot of companies in this field handle both organic and inorganic materials,” Scott continues, “but I personally don’t know of anyone else on the market that concentrates solely on inorganic reference materials the way we do. We live, eat and breathe this business and it is that degree of focus that makes us truly unique.”

It is this dedication that today sees Inorganic Ventures turning increasingly towards international expansion. “While there is certainly still room for growth in the US market,” Scott states, “it is on the international stage where we are identifying enormous potential through the activities

of our distributors who are present in more than 50 countries.”

Where the company identifies much of the growth coming from in the future is from the mining sector, particularly in regions such as South America, South Africa and parts of Europe. “Our largest customer account to date,” Scott says, “is with a large multinational mining company, and it is these kinds of

“Our speeds of delivery and turnaround times are second to none and really help differentiate ourselves from others in the industry” 60 | be weekly

Inorganic Ventures

Group discussion on a custom CRM quotation

clients that we are looking to importance to the business target going forward.” achieving its long term In order to achieve its goals, Scott is just as keen growth targets the company to emphasise that this is a has taken, and continues to company that understands take, proactive steps to better that it has to go if it wants Countries in which the company has position itself to capitalise to grow. “The way we will distributors present on the vast number of grow the business in the opportunities it has identified short-to-medium term is by throughout the world. “In travelling, by introducing the last few months,” Scott says, “we have Inorganic Ventures to people all over successfully finished doubling the capacity the world and by building long-lasting of our US facility. Meanwhile, we are in the relationships with customers. Any good process of moving our European distribution business can display product quality and centre from Madrid to Santander on the good delivery capabilities, but it is strong, border of France.” mutually beneficial relationships that every While such developments are of critical client cherishes and this is what we build.”

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Technical support chemist Thomas Kozikowski reviews ICP data

Manufacturing chemist Briana

“While there is room for growth in the US market, it is on the international stage where we are identifying enormous potential” Travelling to those regions and territories where the company has seen the potential to grow will be fundamental to Inorganic Ventures’ ability to identify distributors that can assist in the company gaining a foothold within the marketplace. “We are a member of the Economic Development Process here in the US,” Scott reveals, “and it is through some of the international visits organised through this that we have been able to reach out to

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the right kind of people. Then what we find is that once these people have our product in their hands they recognise just what it is that we have and what we can offer.”

By emphasising things like the building of relationships and by providing high quality technical support it is clear that the way Inorganic Ventures does business is about more than just the end result. It is equally about doing the little things that seem to have

Inorganic Ventures

M. Hudson mixes a custom CRM

Michael Scott (far) and Christopher Gaines review quarterly figures

gotten lost or been forgotten about over the past 20 to 30 years.

Up until now there has been little evidence to suggest that there has been a concerted effort from companies within this highly technical, niche industry to broaden their scope outside of what is admittedly a healthy home market. “There are locations out there,” Scott says, “in South America for example, which people assume are a decade behind in terms of technology and innovation. In truth, that is perhaps how we felt until we began travelling and exploring these places, whereas now we know first-hand that these parts of the world are a lot further along than some give them credit for.”

With the knowledge that there are opportunities outside of its home market

waiting to be grasped, Inorganic Ventures is now in the process of aggressively targeting potential distributors and clients, both near and far. The company is equally aware that with its soon to be relocated European facility it is perhaps better placed than any other business of its type. “Having a facility outside of the US doesn’t sound like that big of a deal,” Scott concludes, “but what it does is allow us to be just as competitive as any local or multinational manufacturer and to bring our knowledge, expertise and dedication to customer service to a worldwide audience.”

For more information about Inorganic Ventures visit: www.inorganicventures.com

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The vision to succeed

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VIMA Group

Madagascar is a land of increasing opportunity. Chairman Zouzar Bouka explains his vision of a new Madagascar and how VIMA Group is helping make this a reality

written by: Will Daynes research by: Robert Hodgson

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M

uch like the endemic wildlife that has adapted over centuries to survive on the isolated island, Madagascar as a nation continues to evolve rapidly.

Through the development of strong economic ties with the likes of the United States, Japan, Germany and its main trading partner, France, the country’s primary sources of growth today originate from tourism, agriculture and the extractive industries.

With its wealth of untapped mining resources Madagascar’s economy is predicted to expand in the years ahead. In addition to the big mining projects underway in the south and east of the country there are also a vast number of other concessions that need developing.

This understandably creates a ripple effect across all sectors as there remains a need for investment in infrastructure, logistics, transportation, lodging and soft skills.

Founded in 2000, VIMA Group was born out of the vision of chairman Zouzar Bouka. Part of this vision was to create an organisation that could play a leading role in the development of a new Madagascar.

“In this new Madagascar,” Bouka explains, “large scale private sector projects will be the engine for growth throughout the country.”

Since the group’s first subsidiary, VIMA REAL ESTATE was created in 2000, it has been working to meet the demands of the market in terms of real estate development and construction. In the years since VIMA Group has extended its reach to procurement and import services with the creation of VIMA SERV’, the wood sector with VIMA WOOD INDUSTRY and the construction business

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VIMA Group has extended its reach to the wood sector with the creation of VIMA WOOD INDUSTRY

VIMA Group

VIMA Group

VIMA delivers high quality solutions

with VIMA CONSTRUCTION. organisations such as the World Trade Center “The features of a new Madagascar as we Association, Century 21 and REGUS provide see it,” Bouka continues, “include a wider it with access to a multitude of business opening to the world, a country in line with opportunities. Then there is its development international norms and standards and one policy. Thanks to this policy its franchisee that attracts long-term foreign investors who licenses allow it to extend its activities to a are able to put their trust in the expertise and regional and international level. skills of Malagasy companies.”

“Since its birth,” Bouka enthuses, “VIMA In order to achieve this, VIMA Group Group has strived for perfection in every aspect of its business. Specifically, it has three main strategies. has established a set of core The first of these is having traits that guide the company a strong marketing policy on a daily basis. These that maximises its visibility include adaptability, having at a local, regional and international level. Second is a customer centred approach the maintaining of a strong to business, maintaining The year VIMA Group was founded international network. VIMA a high level of customer Group’s partnerships with service, having high speeds

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Seen

Contact us today and put your company in the spotlight!

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VIMA companies undertoo

of delivery and ensuring it always delivers its customers with high quality solutions.�

These core traits have helped contribute to various success stories over the last 12 years, while VIMA Group’s ability to offer a one-stopshop for major organisations looking to enter Madagascar has seen it build up an impressive portfolio of case study examples of its work.

One such example occurred when the Embassy of South Africa approached the group to assist them in finding a new embassy building.

Taking the lead in this project was VIMA REAL ESTATE, which worked closely with embassy staff in order to create a comfortable work environment conducive to the needs of the diplomatic mission from South Africa.

Location was an integral part of this project and so VIMA REAL ESTATE sought out,

VIMA Group

ok the real estate services, procurement and construction for South Africa’s new Embassy building in Madagascar

found, and bought a plot of land situated on a main thoroughfare with easy access to both the downtown of the city and the diplomatic neighbourhood.

VIMA REAL ESTATE subsequently decided that it would be best if the Embassy of South Africa chose an architect of their liking, which would be paid for by VIMA Group, to design the actual embassy building, accommodating for the needs of the South African embassy staff.

VIMA CONSTRUCTION built the embassy, while all of the procurement for the construction materials, interior design, and furniture was bought by VIMA SERV’ while VIMA REAL ESTATE worked in conjunction with a bank to calculate a fair market price for the rent. Currently, VIMA REAL ESTATE manages the rent, maintenance, and customer relationship with the embassy.

The year 2012 has seen VIMA Group

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“VIMA Group has also gone about creating a new subsidiary, that being MADAGASCAR ENERGY”

VIMA CONSTRUCTION works alongside VIMA REAL ESTATE

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VIMA Group continue to expand with it making two new, strategic acquisitions on the west coast of the country. The first of these is a fish processing facility located in the city of Maintirano. The group’s aim is to rehabilitate the existing site with offices, warehouses and laboratories in order to support mining, oil and gas companies located in the area.

The second property, currently under the process of acquisition, lies within the economic hub that is Majunga. This acquisition of 32 hectares of land, with approximately 60,000 square metres of built-on surface, will see the group develop the site to support the growing economy of the region by rehabilitating the buildings for office use by companies involved in mining, oil and gas and high intensive labour. This property will be connected by fiber optic network.

Elsewhere within the group, VIMA CONSTRUCTION and VIMA REAL ESTATE are in the piloting stage of the project “Casa Ivandry” or CI for short. CI is a luxury apartment complex located in a high end neighbourhood in the capital of Antananarivo and is designed for families, couples, or single occupants. Upon completion, CI will be equipped with a swimming pool, movie theatre, tennis courts, gym and restaurant.

This year VIMA Group has also gone about creating a new subsidiary, that being

VIMA maintains a high level of customer service

MADAGASCAR ENERGY. This subsidiary is responsible for producing and supplying electrical energy with its operations split into two divisions, one dealing with thermal power plants working with heavy-oil and the other with renewable energies. In the near future, MADAGASCAR ENERGY will supply 1.4 MW and 2 MW to private companies in the country. MADAGASCAR ENERGY is set to become a major player in the renewable energy sector.

A fundamental part of VIMA Group’s mission is to support the community in Madagascar in various ways. It achieves this through its sponsorship and association with various sporting events and budding stars, including the International Marathon of Tana and the young tennis prodigy Randy

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VIMA Group has evolved to meet the needs of the market

VIMA Group Randrianasoloson, its sponsorship of cultural events and groups, such at the Rencontres du Film Court film festival and the Madajazzcar music festival, and its charity work with the likes of Akamasoa and the Starkey Foundation.

“Since VIMA Group’s creation,” Bouka says, “we have evolved accordingly to meet the needs of the market by moving into different sectors, working with a wide variety of partners and taking on ever-more ambitious projects.

Having consolidated our position as a leader in business, we fully intend to continue expanding and building our network of partners.”

In order to provide even greater value to its clients, VIMA Group intends to focus on several important aspects of its business, most notably its ability to integrate its operations in order to provide quick and efficient solutions, and its ability to fill the gaps that exist with the economy that are integral to the overall development of the country.

“With its diversified economy and natural resources,” Bouka concludes, “Madagascar is an attention-grabbing country for outside companies and is well placed to attract these investors. Indeed, the mining sector will see a large amount of growth and will be the significant sector of the economy in the coming years. In addition, the agriculture, fishing, tourism and construction sectors will continue to see growth and we intend to be there every step of the way to support this in any way we can.”

For more information about VIMA Group visit: www.visionmadagascar.com

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building a better world One of the world’s leading building and construction firms with a rich equipment pool and powerful technical staff

D

ORCE Prefabricated Building & Construction Industry Trade INC., founded in 1982, is a Turkish general contractor, with a vast worldwide experience, which prov ides engineering, procurement and construction services for projects requiring high quality services in extreme environments.

DORCE stands out with its ability to quickly mobilize & operate in the harshest conditions in several countries at the same time.

“ DORCE owns one of the largest prefabricated steel structures manufacturing facilities in the world” 76 | be directory

DORCE owns one of the largest prefabricated steel structures manufacturing facilities in the world.

The manufacturing facility located in Ankara – Turkey, has 100.000 m2 total area (55.000 m2 workshop area).

DORCE Prefabricated Manufacturing Capacity • 160,000 m2 panelized prefabricated building production / month or, • 3,600 modular units (accommodation containers) / month • 1,900 tons production of heavy industrial steel buildings / month.

DORCE’S CRITERIA OF SUCCESS • Timely, in budget project completion • P rov iding highest qualit y construction services • Highest standards in health, safety and environment • DORCE considers it’s personnel as

Dorce

its most valued asset which brings success to the company.

Projects in Following Countries • M iddle East: Iraq, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Yemen, Iran • A sia: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan • E urope: A lbania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Kosovo, Ireland, Macedonia, Moldavia, Romania • A frica: Algeria, Cameroon,

Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea ( Malabo Island), Gabon, Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Morocco, Republic of Congo, Sudan • South America: Venezuela • Australia dorce Asagi Ovecler Mahallesi 1325. Sokak No: 6 Çankaya, 06460 Ankara / Turkey T +90 312 472 82 10 www.dorce.com.tr

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We flex to your specs Spreading quality and standards around the world in the field of chemical reference materials

H

eadqua r tered in Christiansburg, Virginia, Inorganic Ventures is a producer of chemical certified reference material (CRM) specializing in preparing custom inorganic standard solutions designed for a variety of applications. These include ICP, ICP-MS, ion chromatography, and atomic absorption.

These highly regulated and highly sensitive processes require incredibly accurate and consistent measurements, which mean your testing equipment requires extremely accurate and

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consistent calibration. We specialize in the formulation of custom inorganic solutions and we excel in providing service and support tailored to our customers’ specific needs. In short, ‘we flex to your specs’.

“Our speed of delivery and turnaround times,” explains executive vice president, Michael Scott, “are second to none and really help differentiate ourselves from others in the industry.”

For over a decade, Inorganic Ventures has been ISO Guide 34, ISO 17025, and ISO 9001 accredited.

It was the first inorganic certified reference materials manufacturer to be accredited to ISO Guide 34.

These quality standards are the core of the analytical testing community and Inorganic Ventures continues to lead the industry in obtaining and developing these quality standards.

Our vast experience in custom

Inorganic Ventures

blending allows us to create precise, distinctive CRM blends quickly and ship them anywhere in five business days or less. If your needs are not unique, we offer a wide selection of stock inorganic CRMs that ship the day you order.

Our European distribution center is being relocated from Madrid to Santander, to serve as a gateway for any international orders and to provide our customers with fast delivery at competitive transportation costs anywhere in the world. With distributors in more than 50 countries, Inorganic Ventures is targeting the international

stage for its next growth opportunities. “The way we will grow the business in the short-to-medium term is by travelling, by introducing Inorganic Ventures to people all over the world and by building long-lasting relationships with customers,� says Scott.

Inorganic Ventures T 1.800.669.6799 T 1.540.585.3030 F 1.540.585.3012 E info@inorganicventures.com www.inorganicventures.com

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Consulting engineers After 90 years of serving South Africa, J&G has become increasingly involved in the field of mine infrastructure across Africa

J

effares & Green, popularly known as J&G, is a South African consulting engineering firm with a complement of some 300 engineers, environmental scientists, specialist professionals and administration staff working together to provide the highest quality of consulting engineering services for the benefit of the community and the environment.

For the mining industry, J&G’s projects include the design of haul roads, road deviations, road crossings, water supply schemes, airports, civil infrastructure, geotechnical investigations, environmental services and construction monitoring.

J&G offers design and construction monitoring services for all types of roads, from freeways to gravel roads.

Typical road projects undertaken for

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mining houses include the realignment of public roads to increase reserves, access roads, circulation roads and heavy-haul roads, including roads catering for 80t mine vehicles and others catering for 400t road trains.

J&G offers geotechnical and environmental services, including slope stability, materials investigations, f o u n d at i o n i n v e s t i g at i o n s , environmental impact assessments, permitting and mine rehabilitation, and has also been responsible for bulk earthworks for mine and process plant infrastructure.

J&G has undertaken a number of potable water supply and plant water augmentation schemes for mines both in South Africa and north of our borders. J&G has the expertise to offer services in the collection and treatment / disposal of both domestic and industrial wastewater.

Jeffares & Green (J&G) Group

Expert teams also offer hydrology and geohydrology, groundwater monitoring and modelling, and contaminated land assessment and remediation. The group has also been responsible for the development and management of tailings dams.

J&G has a specialist division that deals with integrated solid waste management, including on-site development and management of waste dumps as well as the design of transfer stations. A team of environmental scientists and civil, process and environmental engineers undertakes environmental footprinting, a measurement that goes beyond that

of carbon footprinting, to include the potential impacts of water and waste, thereby establishing a holistic picture of the environmental impact.

J&G has also undertaken the development of airstrips, including feasibility studies, planning, design and licensing, for mines in various countries.

Jeffares & Green (J&G) Group T +27 (0)21 532 0940 F +27 (0)21 532 0950 E jgict@jgi.co.za www.jgi.co.za

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Resources for resources Providing temporary and permanent recruitment across all mining and resource disciplines

R

ed Dirt Personnel was founded in 2002, with the sole focus of meeting the unique needs of the resource industry. In other words, we aren’t a large recruitment company that dabbles in mining. At Red Dirt Personnel, mining is all we do, resulting in our name becoming synonymous with temporary and permanent recruitment across all mining and resource disciplines.

Growing in synergy with the mining industry in Western Australia has given us acute, first-hand knowledge of our individual clients’ needs. Importantly, each of our team members has a mining background, giving them invaluable experience, insight and empathy in the world of mining beyond the four walls of the recruitment office.

Every day across WA, companies rely on Red Dirt Personnel to deliver both temporary and permanent

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skilled workers, particularly in the area of fixed plant processing and maintenance, via what we believe are the most competitive rates in the industry. It’s our role to ensure all placements occur as efficiently as possible, leaving you free to focus on other aspects of your business. As employees are a company’s biggest asset, we strive to evolve all candidates into permanent employees.

Acquiring new staff can be a costly and time-consuming business, so Red Dirt ensures all pre-employment processes and procedures such as medicals, drug & alcohol screens, MWHS testing and reference checks are undertaken for every candidate selected for employment prior to commencing on site (costs covered

by Red Dirt).

As a dedicated mining recruitment provider, it’s not surprising to discover that we take our occupational health

Red Dirt Personnel

and safety responsibilities extremely seriously. Nothing is more important than the safety of our team members, our candidates, our clients and the general community in which each sector operates.

We have comprehensive injury management systems in place to manage our workforce around the clock, and are fully insured, with coverage for workers compensation, public liability and professional indemnity.

Our services have been fine-tuned over a decade of working closely with our clients, identifying areas where we can add value within and beyond

the recruitment process. As all Red Dirt Personnel team members have formerly worked in mining, all services are seamlessly provided within a mutual understanding of rosters, work conditions, and the like.

Red Dirt Personnel Unit 3, 85 The Promenade Mount Pleasant Western Australia 6153 T (08) 9316 4166 F (08) 9316 4150 www.reddirt.com.au

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