The merger of German multinational conglomerate ThyssenKrupp’s Resource Technologies, Polysius and Fördertechnik business units – which came into effect on January 1 – will be a focal point of the company’s exhibit at the 2014 Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 3 to 6.

“Merging these business units will enable us to provide our customers in the mining and cement industry, as well as in the mineral processing and bulk materials handling sectors, with a comprehensive product portfolio, which is linked to our sales and service network,” explains ThyssenKrupp minerals manager Wilfred Barkhuizen.

He states that the company will showcase its extensive experience and advanced mining technologies at the indaba.

“In the past year, we have made some changes to our business operations. We focused on becoming more dynamic by providing the mining industry with combined innovative turnkey solutions, comprising our crushers, mills and high- pressure grinding rolls, using ‘smart comminution’,” ThyssenKrupp materials handling sales manager Matthias Göing tells Mining Weekly.

Indaba Importance

Barkhuizen points out that the indaba is the largest networking event for the mining industry on the African continent, which presents ThyssenKrupp with an ideal opportunity to showcase its strength and expertise to the mining industry.

He adds that the indaba provides the company with an opportunity to meet with clients and project partners.

“The main focus of the event is to connect Africa with the rest of the world, as major African mining projects are presented to project owners, financiers and engineering service providers from around the world,” states Barkhuizen.

Further, he highlights that the indaba provides the African mining industry with significant growth opportunities, which will undoubtedly have an equally positive influence on South Africa, which is often considered to be the economic hub of Africa.

Barkhuizen says that, owing to the size and scope of ThyssenKrupp’s projects, it has to participate in various prefeasibility and feasibility studies, which normally require input from original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like itself.

“The indaba provides a platform for OEMs to discuss their latest projects and provide one another with new and innovative solutions,” he states.

Barkhuizen notes that ThyssenKrupp has attended almost every Mining Indaba that took place in previous years and it regards the indaba as a highly prestigious event.

“The Mining Indaba has, therefore, always been one of our priority events to attend and, on average, we send about three to four delegates a year to the indaba.”

Further, he notes that ThyssenKrupp has been fortunate to witness the exponential growth of the indaba over the past 20 years in terms of exhibitors, attendees and speakers.

“The increasing number of important people attending the indaba each year assists us in networking opportunities and enables us to reconnect with our various mining clients and discuss their projects and future plans,” states Barkhuizen.

Event Highlights

Göing points out that the Mining Indaba’s commodities presentations provide a particularly interesting view of the African mining industry, specifically with regard to the industry’s focus for the future and where new mineral deposits have been discovered.

He adds that the indaba project presentations have highlighted some innovative solutions in the past.

Moreover, Barkhuizen notes that new discoveries are often revealed at the Mining Indaba. This happened in 2013, when Africa-focused base and precious metals project developer Ivanhoe Mines’ Flatreef project, located in South Africa’s platinum-rich Bushveld Igneous Complex, was discussed.

In October, Mining Weekly reported that Ivanhoe Mines had intersected “unprecedented” mineralisation in an exploration drill hole at its flagship South African Platreef precious metals project.

“We will definitely pay careful attention to the development of projects in Africa and we hope to gain more insight into the current status of existing and new projects in Africa,” states Barkhuizen.

Barkhuizen and Göing hope that the indaba will instil confidence in the general African mining industry, as well as in project owners and financiers of mining projects. ThyssenKrupp invites all Mining Indaba delegates to visit its stand for additional insight into the company’s products and services offering.