Anumber of significant contracts in the African mining industry have been awarded to water treatment and process improvement company Nalco Africa, including a five-year $11-million contract for the supply of process chemicals, equipment and services to a Zambian copper mine next year.

In addition, Nalco Africa has secured a contract to supply all process chemicals and related consulting services to a green- field coal mine, in Mozambique, which began operations earlier this year.

The three-year Mozambique contract is worth $12-million, and may be extended by two more years as a result of a planned mine expansion, which will raise the value of the contract to about $25-million. The expansion will increase the mine’s current capacity of 26-million tons a year to over 50-million tons a year.

Nalco Africa, a joint venture between US-based global water, energy and chemicals solutions provider Nalco and chemicals and polymer distributor Protea Chemicals, launched its cooling water technology product offering shortly after opening offices in South Africa, in February last year.

Nalco Africa marketing manager Casimiro da Silva Santos is optimistic about the company’s future in Africa, and believes that its local growth can be attributed to an emphasis on research and development (R&D), as well as the continent’s previously unexploited potential.

“Once global best practises are imple- mented in Africa, and local companies are modernised through employing contemporary technologies, there will be a considerable boom on the continent. Historically, Africa has not received the support that it deserves from international business, and Nalco believes there are sig- nificant untapped local opportunities,” he says.

Da Silva Santos further asserts that South Africa, in particular, has a sizeable critical mass in terms of skills and forward thinking that should be more effectively developed.

“From our expansion into Africa, we have observed that people are educated and have sufficient know-how, but this knowledge is ineffectively used and under- developed. “I believe the biggest growth potential on the continent is the advancement of the local skills base, which will allow African companies to better compete on an international level,” he maintains.

Sustainable Research and Development

Nalco Africa emphasises that its R&D policy further benefits the African market, as it is able to supply sustainable and efficient chemicals and water maintenance platforms to facilities that previously used obsolete or redundant processes.

The company has a number of R&D facilities located worldwide, and expends 2% of its annual turnover on R&D.

Nalco Africa MD Paul Voorhout says the R&D programmes are prioritised to drive innovation and increase market share.

“Nalco spends over $80.4-million a year on research. Our aim is for 20% of the products supplied to a client to be less than five years old,” he points out.

Further, the company’s R&D laboratories focus on chemical research, automation development and predictive control, which Da Silva Santos believes is the future of Nalco.

“Predictive control of our systems will allow the user to accurately foresee a shortcoming in the automation system before it actually occurs. This will allow the user to react either operationally or by making a chemical adjustment to resolve the issue and avoid unnecessary system failure or downtime,” he says.

The company explains that all technolo- gies are developed with sustainability as a priority and, as a result of the finite nature of water, it encourages the industry to recycle as much as possible.

Nalco has also established an air pollu- tion control innovation division, Nalco Mobotec, which offers a multifaceted solution to facilities with high emission levels.

“Mobotec technology uses a chemical, mechanical and operational solution at operations with high levels of emissions to reduce their sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide output. “The system’s most distinct advantage is that it can be retrofitted to be compat- ible with existing operations, and, there- fore, facilities do not require modifications to meet emission standards,” he says.

Medium- and Long-Term Plans in Africa

Nalco Africa forsees that all its Africa-based business will be run from its Johannesburg offices.

Currently, all North African business is administered by Nalco’s Dubai-based office, with the Johannesburg office handling all Southern and East African business.

Voorhout is optimistic that Nalco Africa will progressively expand its reach.

“The company grew more than 60% in its 2011 sales figures, compared with its 2010 figures. We are pleased with these results and anticipate this trend to con- tinue for some time,” he says.

The company also aims to expand into Botswana and Zimbabwe, while developing local communities and providing skills development programmes for Africans.

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