INCREASING COMPLEXITY Heavy-duty machinery and equipment in the mining sector are becoming more complex and require the highest levels of professionalism from operators and servicing technicians
Mining in South Africa is tougher and costlier than ever, with investment flowing out of the country instead of into the industry, says transport, industrial and heating fuel provider Shell South Africa commercial lubricants business-to-business marketing manager Tendani Ndwamise.
Coupled with, for example, the challenges of deteriorating reserves, rising labour costs and regulatory uncertainty surrounding slow progress in the passage of the latest iteration of the Mining Charter and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act Amendment Bill, rising operating costs are causing major miners in the industry to re-evaluate their business in the country.
“The South African industry still has potential to grow, but there is much emphasis on doing things differently by addressing cost constraints and management methods,” he explains, adding that the improvement of major miners’ relationships with host communities is critical to the sector’s success.
Ndwamise notes that these relationships encourage a sense of accountability and responsibility, and boost the sector’s reputation as being a ‘caring’ industry.
To better understand the current and future needs of its customers in South Africa and Africa, Shell Lubricants participated in the 2017 Investing in African Mining Indaba, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 6
to 9, attending presentations and roundtable discussions on concerns in the mining sector.
“We used the event to gain more insight into the mining sector and pick up on the current trends, as well as understand where the mining sector is headed.”
Ndwamise highlights the need for effective lubrication management in the current mining industry enviornment. He says the company’s total cost of ownership (TCO) offering in terms of equipment management will go a long way towards helping any mining house save costs.
TCO is the total amount of capital spent on industrial equipment and includes the cost of the acquisition, the operation of equipment over its entire working life and lost production during equipment downtime.
“Heavy-duty machinery and equipment in the mining sector are becoming more complex and require the highest levels of professionalism from operators and servicing technicians,” says Ndwamise.
“Breakdowns in machinery can cause unexpected downtime and increase costs incurred by fleet operators. Shell lubricants can make a difference by helping mining companies achieve the maximum effectiveness of equipment and increase its life cycle.”
Despite the wide availability of various genuine part oils, businesses in various markets are not always able to make full use of machineries’ capabilities, warns Ndwamise.
“Close collaboration and the exchange of knowledge between leading original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and lubricant manufacturers can allow them to find a mutually beneficial solution, resulting in the increased effectiveness of equipment.
“We create opportunities for such technical dialogue and, in so doing, have won strategic partnerships.”
Collaboration with well-known OEMs enables Shell Lubricants to participate in the development of new equipment, lubricants and fuels as part of one process. These processes are needed to achieve the overriding objective and help achieve maximum performance of equipment.
“Shell field specialists actively participate in the life cycle of lubricants, from development to implementation. We deploy Shell lube experts who are responsible for evaluating the performance of equipment on site, selecting the lubricants and ensuring that they are used in the correct application,” notes Ndwamise.