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MODERN MINING
November 2015
feature
CONSULTANTS/
PROJECT HOUSES
F
ounded in 2008 by five mining
engineers keen to create a new
forward-thinking and innovative
mining consultancy, VBKom has
since established itself as a strong,
medium-sized player in the marketplace and
counts among its clients ‘blue chip’ companies
such as Kumba Iron Ore and Anglo American
Platinum, mid-tiers such as Tshipi é Ntle Man-
ganese Mining and many juniors.
A feature of the company is a high level of
client retention. Says CEO Manie Kriel, who
was also one of the co-founders: “We place a
particular emphasis on developing close rela-
tionships with our clients and some of them
– Kumba’s Sishen mine is an example, as is
Afrisam with its aggregate quarries – have been
with us virtually since we started. With others
– such as Kudumane Manganese Resources –
we’ve travelled the entire project cycle journey
with them from exploration through to mine
construction and operation.”
He adds that another trademark of VBKom is
its readiness to embrace change and innovation.
“This is who we are – it’s built into our DNA,”
he says. “There are tried and tested methods in
the consulting space and we have a total mas-
tery of these but we’re also highly flexible and
adaptable and ready – indeed determined – to
use fresh approaches and new technology to
bring solutions to our clients. For example, we
have really strong IT skills within the company.
You name it – whether it’s Whittle, Surpac,
Mine 2-4D, Talpac, Micromine or XPAC, we
have proficiency, and even our own in-house
scripting and programming ability. We also
maintain close links with the University of
Pretoria, where some of our people lecture,
and are always on the lookout for outstanding
students who we can recruit. It’s important to
bring youth and energy into the business on a
regular basis.”
One of the recruits from Tukkies is
Lehlohonolo (‘Nolo’) Lahasa, who joined
VBKom on graduating four years ago as a
mining engineer. “Entering the mining field
straight from university was quite challeng-
ing for me, a black female, since mining is in
many ways a conservative industry but VBkom
helped me every step of the way and gave me
all the support I needed,” she says. “I’m now
totally comfortable in my position and virtu-
ally consider myself a mining industry veteran!
I’ve been given considerable responsibility by
VBKom and handle the mine planning work for
one of our major clients.”
VBKom used to operate through several
related but independent companies, each
with its own branding. At one stage there
was VBKom Consulting Engineers as well as
VBKom Deep, VBKom Rehab, VBKom Namibia
and VBKom Projects. Earlier this year, the
decision was taken to amalgamate the vari-
ous companies (with the exception of VBKom
Namibia, which necessarily has to remain as a
separate company) into a single entity, VBKom.
Explaining the change, Eduan Pieterse, a
Broad range of specialised
skills gives
VBKom
the edge
Nolo Lahasa
Falling commodity prices have placed the majority of mining companies
under severe pressure and many are scrambling to restructure and fine tune
their operations to allow them to survive in the current difficult market. One
mining consultancy which can help them achieve these goals is Centurion-
based VBKom, which combines traditional in-depth mining engineering
skills with particularly strong industrial engineering, risk management and
project management offerings.
Modern Mining
recently spoke to several of
the company’s principals and engineers.
“We place a
particular
emphasis on
developing close
relationships with
our clients.”