In the stope
What about the rest of Africa ? There are many opportunities in West Africa , especially in Nigeria . We are hopeful for a few projects in Nigeria , where the government has been driving diversification away from oil . I hope we can increase our presence in Nigeria over the next few years and we intend opening an office in West Africa soon .
The rest of West Africa is very attractive . This region remains a key part of VBKom ’ s diversification strategy . Our operation is well established in the Southern African Development Community ( SADEC ), and we foresee a lot of activity in these two geographical areas in the next five to 10 years .
Growth in the mining industry has been stifled for several years ; has that prompted you to venture into the rest of Africa ?
Not really . Although we are South African , and most of our business takes place in South Africa , we had an African vision from early on . We started feeling the pinch after Marikana in 2013 , though , and knew that our South African exposure and niche offering ( opencast mining ) made us vulnerable — we realised that we had to diversify . But Africa was always part of our plans . Soon after we established the company , we undertook projects in Zimbabwe , the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( DRC ), Mozambique , and Zambia , and we are still involved in these countries . Since then , we have added several other African countries to our portfolio . VBKom is currently involved in 30 – 40 projects across Africa .
In which African countries does VBKom have it biggest footprint ?
Copper and cobalt in the DRC and copper in Zambia , although not on the same scale as in the DRC . We are also involved with a few projects in Namibia and Botswana , and in Mozambique we are looking at gold , ruby , industrial minerals , and coal projects . There are many discussions about projects in Mozambique , and there are many new opportunities .
What is your opinion of automation , mechanisation , and technology ? How will it play out in the next few years ?
Technology and mechanisation are fundamental to the South African mining industry . The mining industry has been slow in accepting new technology . The downward cycle , however , has forced many mining companies to seriously start looking at technology , and accept that they will have to change .
With the massive amounts of data , I think the biggest opportunities in terms of technology are to manage this data more effectively and gain more intelligence and knowledge from it . This will enable a company to manage the business more efficiently .
Companies are integrating loose-standing projects so there is one platform with integrated information that they can use to make informative management decisions . There is also a strong focus on safety and how to employ technology to ensure safe practices .
We have moved past the theoretical practice of technology . The question is now , what will technology do to my bottom line ? If I do invest in technology , how will it affect my costs ? How will it improve my outputs in terms of the product ?
What will the effect of technology and automation be on Africa , its development goals , and the continuous efforts to create jobs ?
The reality is that our number one goal in Africa should be to create employment . There is a fine balance between using new technology and safeguarding jobs . For me it does not make sense to replace people with machines on the African continent . Maybe in other places in the world . In Africa , we should look at communities and creating jobs for these communities , and at the skills mining projects will be able to develop . The mining industry is well positioned to create jobs and they have a social responsibility to do that . From a strong Western , capitalist angle , technology has its place . But Africa is uniquely
The reality is that our number one goal in Africa should be to create employment . There is a fine balance between using new technology and safeguarding jobs .
positioned as the centre point between the west and the east . There is a big opportunity for development and it starts with the basic stuff , basic job creation — so we need to develop projects that can create jobs .
What , in your view , are the major challenges in Africa ?
In the past few years , the big constraint , without a doubt , was a clear shortage of investment . There is just not enough money that flows to the mining industry to take the projects forward . Hopefully , we will see a change this year . In good times , the investors return . The other big challenge is the lack of appropriate skills in Africa .
Manie , you have had a long career in the mining industry ; what were special highlights for you ?
After obtaining a degree in mining engineering from the University of Pretoria , I worked underground at Vaal Reefs in Orkney , before moving to an opencast mine at Samancor . I spent time in Germany where we built and commissioned a processing plant and I used that knowledge two years later when I assisted with the development of a silica processing plant close to Delmas . The biggest highlight was the six years I spent working on diamond projects in the Richterveldt in the Northern Cape , where I developed an exploration project , got involved in production development , and eventually became general manager at the mine . b
[ 28 ] MINING MIRROR MAY 2018