In the stope
Ndavhe Mareda:
building an African giant
Ndavhe Mareda, chairperson of the Makole Group that
owns Black Royalty Minerals, tells Leon Louw that the
company will have another mine in operation before the
end of this year.
Ndavhe, where are you from
and why the interest in mining?
I grew up in Limpopo, in the area
previously known as Venda. Af rica
is extremely rich in minerals, and
when we initiated discussions
about starting a company and
which industry we should look
at, mining featured prominently
in those discussions. Then we
asked ourselves which minerals we
should look at, and we came to the
conclusion that coal, iron ore, and
manganese are relatively easy to
understand and not as complex as
platinum and gold, for example.
What is your background?
I did my BCom Accounting at the
University of South Africa (Unisa)
and worked as an accountant at
Sasol for some time thereafter
before I moved into business.
Studying accounting gives you the
benefit of being a generalist rather
than a specialist. It is a broad field
of training.
Is there room for junior mining
companies like Black Royalty
Minerals (BRM) in the coal
space? Does the coal industry
offer more opportunities?
There really is space for everybody
to play in the coal industry. There
is more than enough space for the
majors, who are looking at much
bigger, long-term projects. On the
other hand, there is also a lot of space
for junior mining companies, who can
mine anything from one to 10 million
[28] MINING MIRROR APRIL 2018
tonnes of coal per annum, whereas for
a major company like BHP Billiton
or South32, a small project like this
might not be attractive enough. So,
junior mining companies really fill
an important gap. They can move
a small amount of coal and still be
profitable. And, for now, that is how
we see BRM. We do, of course, have a
huge appetite to grow and to become
a major one day. We want to tell the
South African story as it should be
told; a story of a diversified society
that appreciates skill, where anybody
who has the capacity can do what
they want to and do it successfully.
That is the story that South Africa
needs to tell.
Are you looking to do
exploration work in other
African countries?
Africa is on our radar, but exploration
is not a cheap exercise, especially for
junior mining companies. However,
it is becoming more affordable with
modern technology. Technology has
resulted in much shorter timelines
and cost-effective ways of exploring.
As an exploration company, we are
doing a lot of research. I am planning
a trip to Silicon Valley to look
specifically at new technology that we
can use in the exploration space.
Africa offers great opportunities
and we want to tell a different
African story — a story that says we
are part of the African community.
BRM wants to contribute towards
the development of Africa and take
Africa to a different level. But the
story would have to start at home.
You cannot teach something that you
do not even do at home. Our story
is one of diversity; it is a story that
appreciates the skills and talent of
African people.
As a junior, has funding to
develop a new mining project
been a challenge?
Funding mining projects, and
especially exploration projects, is
a big challenge. But a number of
companies have put really great
programmes in place to assist
exploration companies. Contractor
Stefanutti Stocks, for example, has a
fund focusing specifically on junior
miners. We spoke to one of the
majors recently and figured out how
best we can make a hybrid system
work. In that way, juniors can take
their project forward. For me it is
a very attractive value proposal. It
means that if a smaller exploration
company has a good asset, it can
be developed with the assistance of
the major and can then become a
producing mine within 12 months.
Do you think the junior mining
company should then sell its
project to the major once it
starts producing?
It is a very controversial subject. I
think it is one of the reasons why
there is not a vibrant, big junior
mini ng industry in South Africa.
Junior miners normally develop a
project to a certain stage and when
it reaches a specific value, they then