Modern Mining May 2016

MODULAR PLANTS

A Johannesburg-based company specialising in economically priced modular mineral processing plants is APT (Appropriate Process Technologies). Founded just over a decade ago, it does not have a particularly high profile in South Africa itself (where it has supplied just one plant over the years) but junior and sub-junior miners throughout the rest of Africa – and indeed in other mining regions around the world – know it as the company to turn to when they want to get their projects up and running at minimal cost and in the shortest possible time. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently spoke to APT’s Business Development Manager, Gary McFarlane, to learn more about the company, its products and its reputation for innovative engineering. APT – filling a market niche

A ccording to McFarlane, APT was founded with the express intention of supplying a niche market – the multitude of small miners around Africa possessed of limited capital but with viable deposits to exploit. “Miners of this type tend to have ex- tremely limited budgets and generally need to get into production as fast as possible – within weeks or months rather than years,” he says. “We have provided a solution for them, offer-

ing well priced, low maintenance, ‘entry level’ plants with capacities as small as 1,5 t/h – but, at the same time, engineered to be highly ef- ficient and easily expanded. “When we started up, there were hardly any other suppliers addressing this particular mar- ket. The result was that we had only limited competition in our early years and were able to grow steadily – to the point where we now have around 50 direct employees in Southern Africa and around 60 different plant configurations

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34  MODERN MINING  May 2016