With the world’s unceasing demand for vital fluids – whether water or oil – the global pump and valve manufacturing industry is showing renewed interest in this year’s Pumps Valves and Pipes Africa (PVPA) Expo, set to take place in Midrand from May 20 to 22.

“Pipelines, valves and pumps are the only sure infrastructure mechanisms to control the direction, rate of flow and final destination of these commodities,” PVPA organiser Exhibition Management Services MD John Thomson says.

Water management in the mining industry is critical as the contamination of water resources is seen as one of the major environmental conse-quences of mining, with inadequate water management having the potential to render a mine unsustainable in the long term.

In addition, water infrastructure will also be key in the future development of the African mining industry.

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair last month, at the 2015 Investing in African Mining Indaba, said that there were great opportunities for private investors to collaborate with local governments for the development of mining infrastructure.
“Even with the sharp declines in commodity prices, tremendous opportunities remain for an adjustment and a reshaping of mining in Africa into a government/private-sector partnership embracing the development of power, water and transport infrastructure,” Blair told the indaba’s 7 000 attending mining professionals.

Thomson notes that, despite their crucial importance, there are still many regions in Africa and in the world where adequate water systems do not exist, stating that this is where the PVPA does its work.

“The need to manage Africa’s water is a major driver of interest in the region for pump and valve manufacturers and suppliers around the world,” Thomson states.

PVPA is a component expo of the SA Industry & Technology Fair and specifically targets sup-pliers to the mining, water utilities, industrial and civil engineering, manufacturing, food, bever- age, dairy, brewing, agriculture and horticulture, petrochemicals, and pulp and paper industries, and national and local government.