Opencast mining explosives manufac-turer BME is finding ready markets in the African mining industry and is planning a steady expansion into several countries, including Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique.

Already, more than half of BME’s turnover comes from contracts in African countries outside its home base in South Africa, where it is a major player in explosives technology for surface and underground mines, notes the company.
“Africa has certainly become an exciting market for us and sub-Saharan Africa’s current growth rate of about 5.5% makes it one of the fastest-growing regions of the world. While this is off a fairly low base, it is still a significant market for mining going forward,” says BME international marketing GM Ralf Hennecke.

He adds that lower commodity prices have curtailed some of the earlier bullishness about both greenfield operations and brownfield expansions around the continent.

“Iron-ore prospects in West Africa, for instance, might take more time to be brought to production, but it will certainly happen. There are greenfield operations on the drawing board for countries like Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mauritania, where there are substantial quantities of iron-ore in the ground and the demand fundamentals are there to support future development,” Hennecke points out.

BME mentions that it has been kept busy by expansion work undertaken by existing customers, despite some new projects being curtailed. Much of this activity has been in Zambia, where the firm has operated for almost 15 years and where it now employs 130 staff members. BME’s fast-growing customer base on the Copperbelt and in other parts of Zambia recently made Zambia its second-largest market in Africa, after South Africa.

“Currently, we are in the process of estab-lishing legal entities in more countries in West Africa to ensure that we are well positioned when there is an upturn in the current com-modities cycle,” he says.

While the company has concentrated on work in West and Southern Africa in recent years, it is also looking east toward countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea, where future growth prospects are high.
“We are also very interested in Mozam-bique – particularly the coal sector – and are in the process of establishing a business there. There is a lot of impovement needed in developing the country’s infrastructure to allow the necessary logistics to take place for development, but we are confident this is not far away,” Hennecke explains.

He notes that there is still considerable development taking place in Africa’s eco-nomies despite the global slowdown, driven largely by growth rates of over 7% in China and good growth in India.

Also, commodity demand over the medium term should recover, he says, adding that one of the positive indicators for Africa’s future sustained growth is the involvement of Chinese and Indian companies across the continent.

BME is mindful of the fact that boosting its customer base can only be sustained by constantly upgrading its own service infrastructure in areas of growth. In the vibrant copper mining area of Solwezi, for instance, the company is currently expanding its own infrastructure, enlarging its fleet of trucks and pumping units, taking on new staff and doubling the capacity of its emulsion plant.

BME has supported its business growth in Zambia by rolling out an enlarged footprint to now include an expanding administration head office in Chingola and depots in Lusaka, Kafue and Ndola.

“To ensure these offices are well staffed by highly competent employees, BME has attracted skilled local employee to run financial and administrative duties as well as the vital functions in human resources, safety and health,” says BME international business manager Johan Kotze.

He adds that the skills developed by BME in Zambia are essential to the building of a high-quality, sustainable business there. “It will also be important in supporting our expansion into neighbouring countries. We are already busy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is just across the boarder, and there are significant opportunities there,” he concludes.