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MODERN MINING
November 2016
CONSULTANTS/
PROJECTS HOUSES
feature
C
ompany founder Vaughn Duke
says that while Sound Mining –
like all its peers – has seen a de-
cline in revenues over the course
of the recession, it has neverthe-
less avoided material reductions in staffing
numbers. “Everyone in the company without
exception has voluntarily taken a salary cut.
As a result we’ve managed to keep our highly
experienced team of around 25 people togeth-
er at a time when most other consultancies
have been shedding jobs,” he says. He adds
that while it is still too early to say that a re-
covery in mining is on the way, Sound Mining
is seeing an increase in study work in particu-
lar which could indicate that the industry is
turning.
Duke, a Wits graduate in Mining Engineering
who worked for Anglovaal for most of his early
career, started consulting from Sound Mining
in 2004 with Pieter Potgieter, also a mining
engineer. The timing of Sound Mining’s launch
was almost perfect, as 2004 was the year in
which the commodities boom was taking off.
“We were able to grow rapidly,” says Duke.
“The global financial crash of 2008 slowed us
down for a few months but this proved to be
only a temporary setback and we thereafter
experienced steady revenues right through to
late 2014.”
According to Duke, Sound Mining was
over-exposed in its early years to a single com-
modity, platinum – which accounted for as
much as 75 % of revenue – and a single cli-
ent, one of the platinum mining majors. “We
saw the dangers in this and, thankfully, took a
conscious decision around eight years ago to
broaden both our client base and our commod-
ity base. This strategy has paid off handsomely
and has been a key contributor to the resil-
ience which the company has displayed,” he
says. “We now have a client base that includes
majors, mid-tiers and juniors and we’ve worked
Sound Mining
weathers the storm
Some of the directors of
Sound Mining. They are
(from left) Vaughn Duke,
Malcolm Lotriet, Diana van
Buren, Pieter Potgieter and
Graham Stripp.
The recession in mining has not spared mining consultan-
cies, many of whom have struggled to stay afloat over the
past couple of years as work has dried up. One company,
however, that has managed to hold its own in these difficult
circumstances is Johannesburg-based consultancy, Sound
Mining Solution (Sound Mining), which attributes its solid
performance not only to the quality of its service offering
but also the diversity of its client base and the fact that it
operates in virtually every commodity.