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February 2016
MODERN MINING
35
EVENTS
A range of products built on the foundation of quality and durability ® Investing in diversified growth Aggregates Industrial Minerals Contracting International Concrete Products Readymix Afrimat Limited is a leading black empowered open pit mining company providing an integrated product offering ranging from aggregates, industrial minerals, concrete products (bricks, blocks and pavers) to readymix concrete. Afrimat has established a strong foothold in contracting services comprising mobile crushing, screening,drilling and blasting. Backed by more than 45 years’ experience, Afrimat listed on the JSE Limited in 2006. As part of its continued diversification strategy, the group is expanding its footprint into Africa. The group’s capabilities enable Afrimat to service projects of any scale from major infrastructure and construction projects for state-owned enterprises and parastatals through to small private sector contracts. Tel +27 21 917 8840 Fax +27 21 914 1174 info@afrimat.co.za www.afrimat.co.zaof implementation (a 4,4 Mt/a operation) was
underway, with first concentrate scheduled to
be delivered to the market by early 2018. He
said the vision of the company was to grow
Gamsberg production to 250 kt/a and then to
450 kt/a and beyond in three phases.
Another player in the Northern Cape is the
BHP Billiton spin-off, South32, the world’s
largest producer of manganese ore. The compa-
ny’s CEO, Graham Kerr, said the challenge for
the metal had been the fragmented growth in
South Africa’s Kalahari Basin over the past five
years, which had led to sub-optimal outcomes
in the resource, rail allocation, the export sup-
ply chain and, ultimately, shareholder capital.
“This lack of industry discipline has led us to
the painful consequences of a world where
manganese is materially over-supplied,” he
observed.
Kerr told delegates that South32 was
responding to the difficult conditions facing
manganese producers with a number of initia-
tives. These included accelerating the second
phase of the Central Block development project
at Wessels, the reduction of saleable production
at Wessels, the optimisation of the mining and
processing footprint at Mamatwan and continu-
ing operation of only one of four furnaces at the
Metalloys smelter. He concluded by saying that
the industry needed to make rational decisions
and take a disciplined supply approach.
Finally, although the mood at the Mining
Indaba was overwhelmingly negative, it was
not all doom and gloom. Kerr, for example,
noted that while China’s growth had moder-
ated and continued to rebalance, demand for
the majority of commodities – while no longer
exponential – was still strong versus histori-
cal norms and variations of this view were
expressed by a number of speakers. Many
individual companies were also able to report
positive news despite the stresses in the min-
ing sector, perhaps the most notable example
being Randgold Resources, which reported
excellent results at the Indaba, with its CEO
Mark Bristow describing 2015 as one of the best
years in the company’s history. Overall, there
was enough good news around to suggest that
there is still plenty of life in the African mining
industry despite the horrendous downturn of
the past year.
Photos courtesy of 2016 Mining Indaba
“This lack
of industry
discipline has led
us to the painful
consequences of
a world where
manganese is
materially over-
supplied.”
Graham Kerr,
CEO, South32