DIRK LOURENS The Mining Indaba can provide opportunities for strong expansion into other African mining regions
Construction group Raubex aims to educate the market on the services diversification it has introduced in recent years at the 2014 Investing in African Mining Indaba, to be held in Cape Town from February 3 to 6, says Raumix Holdings MD Tobie Wiese.
He notes that although Raubex started out as a predominantly roads construction company, 40 years ago, it has diversified strongly in recent years to become a construction group with extensive capabilities that operates in all South Africa provinces and throughout Southern Africa, with a specific focus on infrastructure development.
“Mining-focused services have become a significant part of the organisation’s business model, so we regard the Mining Indaba as an ideal opportunity to interact with our broad spectrum of clients among the mining houses, make contact with potential new clients and generally showcase the full extent of our offering to the greater African and international mining industry,” adds Wiese.
He explains that the company aims to exploit this opportunity to broaden its horizons with respect to its established client base within the major mining houses.
Further, the company intends on publicising its capabilities in the alternative energy arena. He adds that, for the company, the differentiator in this arena is a dedicated in-house renewable-energy division, supported by two electrical subcontracting teams with the skills to handle all the different requirements of a typical photovoltaic plant.
“At Mining Indaba 2014, we will also be drawing attention to our competencies in building green housing for mine personnel. This capability is more and more in demand coming to the fore from a social responsibility perspective, with increasing pressure on mining companies to provide suitable housing for their personnel, in line with the Mining Charter,” says Wiese.
Raubex Infra MD Dirk Lourens says that the company’s footprint is still predominantly in South Africa but that it is aiming to expand strongly into other African mining regions.
Mining Indaba provides a valuable opportunity to interact with a range of regional and international mining companies, including junior miners, in one place. “Since many mines award contracts only through invited tenders, the company looks forward to the opportunity to market its capabilities, thereby increasing the possibility of being invited to tender for future projects,” he adds.
“After only 18 months in operation, Raubex Infra, our infrastructure division, already accounts for 20% of the group’s turnover. Together the materials handling, mining and infrastructure divisions represent more than 50% of the company’s turnover,” says Lourens.
From a commodity perspective, Africa is one of the fastest-growing mining regions and the South African mining industry adds immense value to the entire African mining arena, he says.
“This type of event brings mining houses, service providers and equipment suppliers together on a single platform and, as it is such a broadly publicised event, it also introduces new players to the equation and affords us an opportunity to see what our competitors are offering,” concludes Wiese.