Shaw River Manganese
Managing Manganese Mining Shaw River Ltd. have recently pushed forward with their flagship Otjozondu project in Namibia, where excellent logistics means a competitive investment environment Writer Emily Jarvis Project manager James Mitchell Shaw River Manganese Limited is an Australian based mineral exploration and development company focussing on manganese project opportunities internationally. Its flagship project is located in Namibia, in the south west of Africa. With a current focus on exploration, defining and increasing their mineral resource base and project studies, the company have recently developed an open-cut mining operation at its Otjozondu (Otjo) Project in Namibia. From its appearance on the stock exchange in late 2006, initially with all assets held in Western Australia, Shaw River now have a shareholder relationship with Atlas Iron, who have a 53.45 per cent interest share in Shaw River Manganese Limited. Peter Benjamin, Managing Director of Shaw River, talked to Africa Outlook about their flagship "Otjozondu Project" and his understanding of the mining and manganese industry. Why Africa? With a complex Government approvals process in Australia, projects can be expensive and take years to complete. Benjamin says that investment is only coming into the industry for very large projects: "Those with an excellent return on investment and a good margin, often in excess of 100 per cent, are the projects that attract attention and investment in the current investment environment." There are sometimes very good resource investment opportunities in Africa because of a combination of Greenfields (new), better availability of capital, lower labour and operating costs and relatively quick timetables…
Hyspec Mining Services
High expectations below ground Hyspec Mining Services have been rolling out an intensive training programme, to further improve their team of dedicated professionals Writer Emily Jarvis Project manager James Mitchell Hyspec Mining Services have been serving the mining community for over eighteen years from seven African countries. The business was founded in 1996 as a hydraulic services provider in Ghana, where they were pioneers in the mining industry, being the first company to offer fully managed on-site workshops at individual mine locations. The Hyspec Mining Services are now head quartered in Australia, and have a focus on providing hydraulic, fuelling and lubrication equipment and services to the mining and exploration industry across Africa. Hyspec has a large purchasing and logistics centre in Perth, Western Australia, with operational central warehouses in Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Zambia. All regional offices are registered under the Hyspec name and are fully registered local companies each with its own Operations Manager. The company further operates a "Managed Workshop" model in four other countries. Hyspec provides services from over fifty wholly owned mine-site based workshops across their countries of operation, and gives around the clock services to mining contractors, drilling companies and mine support businesses operating at the mine sites. Hyspec are the market leader in its field and is an integral partner to the mining companies and their contractors, assisting in their constant struggle to reduce the downtime of mining production equipment. The company provides replacement hydraulic hose assemblies and associated parts 24/7 from over 50…
SEMS Exploration
Passion and Profession in the Mining IndustrySimon Meadows-Smith shares his knowledge of the mining industry and passion for his business in Ghana. Writer Rebecca Wigmore Project manager James Mitchell Managing Director and geologist Simon Meadows-Smith has been running SEMS Exploration in Ghana for over 15 years and his passion for his business and the African landscape is clear. Africa is renowned for the rich bounty of geological resources contained within its soil and despite a general recent downturn in the fortunes of the African mining industry, it has an irresistible draw for those that want to invest in precious metals. Meadows-Smith has a long history of specialisation within his adopted country, as he explains: "I came to Ghana in the mid 1990s and stayed for a couple of years as a contract geologist. I then went to work in Australia and decided to come back to Ghana and start a small exploration company with Australian funding. Off the back of that, we found a gold mine and sold it. In 2000 when the Gulf crisis hit – I chose to stay on in Ghana and converted my company into a consultancy and that's how we've been operating since 2001." A lot of what makes SEMS Exploration unique is that it operates under a shared risk model which allows investors a level of support and security, afforded by SEMS' professional and regional expertise. Meadows-Smith explains: "A lot of investors from around the world are not particularly familiar with working in Africa, particularly West Africa. They don't fully…
African Minerals
Ore inspiring Africa Outlook takes a closer look at iron ore miner African Minerals Ltd's flagship Tonkolili mine in Sierra Leone Writer Emily Jarvis Project manager Ben Weaver Ore owners have described West Africa as the new frontier and the quest for its iron-ore resources has driven a railway and mining boom worth an estimated $25 billion. So many discoveries have been made in the region that it has been described as the new Pilbara, after the massive iron ore fields in Western Australia. AIM-listed African Minerals Ltd's (AML) Tonkolili mine in the Sula Mountain range in Sierra Leone sits on top of one of West Africa's largest iron ore deposits. The firm, founded by entrepreneur Frank Timis as Sierra Leone Diamond Company, spent seven years exploring the deposit before confirming the presence of a world-class magnetite iron ore deposit in 2009. The London based company signed a 99-year lease with the government of Sierra Leone to rehabilitate the 74km 1067mmgauge railway from the port of Pepel to the old mine at Marampa and build a 126km extension to a new iron-ore mine at Tonkolili. It began production just 14 months after the mining permit was issued and the fi rst ore trains ran in November 2011. The second phase "will entail the development of a new purpose built port at Tagrin Point. The new port will have the ability to load Cape Size vessels alongside the quay and avoid the costs of using transhipment vessels. At the mine a new major concentrator will be built,…
Foveros Mining & Construction
When The Earth Moves The current agricultural and mining policies that the Zambian Government has in place will see earth moving and plant hire firm Foveros Mining expand says CEO John Samaras. Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Arron Rampling This is a unique moment in time for Africa and there are a lot of exciting things happening across the continent. It is becoming less volatile, creating a better environment for business development, and there is far greater stability. What's more, six of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. There is a rapidly growing middle class. And urbanisation is increasing faster than the infrastructure is able to keep up with. These are undeniable facts that bode well for "the right players," says John Samaras, CEO of Zambian earthmoving and plant hire firm Foveros Mining. Naturally, he is looking to tap into the opportunities as he sees them. "Zambia is Africa's top copper producer and has enjoyed a spectacular boom; it has been great for business." He has a point. The main stakeholders in Zambia's mining industry – the likes of First Quantum Minerals, Vedanta Resources, Barrick Gold, and Vale – are either scaling up investment or expanding production capacity and there is a reported $6 billion coming into the country's mining sector. The Government says it plans to increase copper production, which dropped to 824,976 tons last year from 881,108 tons the previous year, to about 1.5 million tons in the next five years. "There are obviously opportunities for us in…
African Consolidated Resources
Future's bright for Zim's African Consolidated Resources African Consolidated Resources is a company perched on the brink of great things. This Zimbabwe-focused company has projects covering gold, nickel, platinum, copper, phosphate and diamonds. Africa Outlook talks to Chairman Roy Tucker about what the future has in store. Writer Hannah Eiseman-Renyard Project manager Debbie Clark African Consolidated Resources (AFCR) has been active since 2004 and has made great use of first mover advantage, purchasing an enviable portfolio of over 12 key projects at a time when many companies are struggling to raise the capital for new ventures. "It's been quite a difficult investment background, but we have been successful in getting a number of properties," says Chairman Roy Tucker. "We are progressing from being exploration and prospecting only to development and mining too – and this partly changed because of the world economy." It's safe to say that the development is currently going extremely well. we spoke to Mr. Tucker the day after African Consolidated Resources announced that the definitive feasibility study (DFS) had been completed on time and within budget for the Phase 1 being the oxide cap of its 3.2 million ounce Pickstone-Peerless gold site in Zimbabwe. The DFS established a maiden reserve of 136,000 oz at 2.06 g/t. This is merely the feasibility study for Phase 1. The full open pit planned for the site is reported to have 813,000 ounces of gold at 5.1 g/t, producing a much higher yield. "We regard the oxide pit as just a stepping stone for the larger…
Aureus Mining : Gold Production in Liberia
Aureus Mining Inc. is engaged in the exploration and development of gold deposits in highly prospective and under-explored areas of Liberia and Cameroon.
SBD Guinea : Thrill of the Drill
Reverse circulation drilling specialist SBD Guinea has worked on some of West Africa’s most significant and exciting exploration projects and operating mines.
Cyclone Engineering Projects
Waste masters Gerrit Van Jansen Van Ryssen formed mine residue handling company Cyclone Engineering Projects following demand from the mining industry and the fast growing company has gone from strength to strength. Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Debbie Clark All business managers will tell you of the importance of creating your own niche – being focused on a targetable part of the market. As the pool of people you are looking at is smaller, it will be easier to identify potential clients, and it is this that has seen Cyclone Engineering Projects grow. "I'll start at the beginning," says founder Gerrit Jansen van Ryssen. "I had and still have another company called Cyclone Projects and Consulting (CP & C) which was formed in 1998 and we would consult the mining industry in Africa and all the major mining houses – AngloGold Ashanti, Debswana Diamond Company etc. – and design tailings management solutions for them. That business was formed because there are two inevitabilities about mining for certain types of minerals: they consume vast amounts of water and produce equally large quantities of waste. Tailing management is also expensive and comes with considerable responsibility so we stepped into handle that, specialising in a process of Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) construction known as cycloning. Cyclone Engineering Projects was founded during 2007 on demand by the mining industry to operate and manage cycloned- and other tailings storage facilities (TSFs). I thought it a good opportunity; there was big demand from the mining industry. It has gone very well." The…
HPE Africa
Importing quality Earlier this year Invicta holding company acquired High Power Equipment Africa. the acquisition was a "strategic investment which will enable Invicta to broaden its product offering to the plant hire, construction, quarrying and mining industries in South Africa and into Africa" said Tony Sinclair, CEO of Capital Equipment Group, the Invicta subsidiary which brought the company. Writer Chris Farnell Project manager Debbie Clark As the only distributor of Hyundai's earth moving equipment HPE Africa is a valuable resource for the industry and has been since it achieved this position under the leadership of Alan Grady 13 years ago. The company has made a flagship product of Hyundai's range, distributing products as esteemed as Astra off -road, articulated and rigid dump trucks, Soosan hammers and drills, MB crusher buckets and Hyundai Packaged Power Stations. Every product in HPE Africa's range has been specially selected to meet the special needs of their South African client base. Their products confirm to European emissions standards, environmental regulations, build requirements and safety standards. With top of the line products and an uncompromisingly customer-driven focus, HPE Africa has seen exponential growth in its service of the plant hire, mining, construction, demolition and materials handlings sectors, for private and government customers alike. However in this day and age it simply isn't enough to provide quality products alone and HPE Africa's after sales care features comprehensive full or part service contracts, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the firm's stand-by workshops and parts departments. Internal technicians, artisans, the…
