JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining project house Bateman Engineering is expected to be given a wider market presence in both South America and Australia following its acquisition by Tenova of Italy.

Tenova CEO Gianluigi (Gigi) Nova tells Mining Weekly Online in a video interview that Tenova’s $150-million (R1.2-billion) acquisition of Bateman has already secured Italian and Brazilian antitrust approval and ratification from competition authorities in both South Africa and Kazakhstan before the end of March is anticipated.

While half of Tenova’s revenue continues to come from the supply of technologies and equipment to the steel industry, the company has been advancing steadily into the field of mining services, firstly through the acquisition of Takraf, which is strong in the openpit part of the value chain, and then through the acquisition of pyrometallurgy company Pyromet and now Bateman, which includes Delkor.

Since announcing the Bateman acquisition in December, Tenova has restructured its company into two parts, one fully steel focused and the other fully mining focused, with discussion under way on the optimal integration of Takraf, Pyromet and Bateman into a new unique one-stop mining services entity.

With the inclusion of the $500-million-a-year Bateman, the $1.5-billion-a-year Tenova will employ 4 500 people in more than 30 countries and become a $2-billion-a-year business.

Tenova, in turn, forms part of the $22-billion 55 000-employee Rocca family controlled Techint group, 75% of the revenue of which arises from two listed steel-industry-linked companies.

It plans to roll out Bateman’s suite of mining services in northern Chile, where it has been awarded letters of intent on two large copper projects.

The first target will be to use Bateman know-how in South America and Australia and then expand into Africa in the longer term.

“Right now, the biggest markets are Australia and South America and we are very strong in both.

“We are adding a market presence that is already wider than the market presence that Bateman has on its own,” Nova tells Mining Weekly Online in a video interview.

Bateman gives Tenova the opportunity to be the supplier along the complete value chain, from geological development to mine building.

In South Africa, Bateman has sold its Boksburg property and will be relocating to new leased corporate premises in Greenstone, close to Modderfontein, Bateman group brand executive Tom Fraser reports.
 

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