While larger mining companies operate their process plants on a traditional owner/operator basis, many juniors still prefer to contract out the operation of their mines, as it eliminates unforeseen costs and secures proven skills, technologies and associated systems that they would not have access to otherwise, derisking their projects, says outsourced operation and maintenance (O&M) specialist for minerals processing Minopex business development executive Renira Reddy.

“For this reason, Minopex plans to add further value by enhancing our overall service offering to our clients, not only within their mineral processing plants, but throughout their mining value chain,” she states.

Minopex, established 20 years ago, identified a gap in the industry trend for outsourcing the operational aspects of mineral processing. Minopex business development director Rafael Abela highlights that the company has since grown to become a specialist in the field of outsourced O&M of metals and mineral processing facilities in the coal, platinum, gold, iron-ore, chromite and diamond industries.

Minopex has worked over the past two decades to diversify itself into several divisions – each specialising in a field that complements the Minopex service offering. It is this continued diversification that enables the company to provide its clients with a holistic service offering, and is also what sets it “head and shoulders” above its competition, says the company.

Reddy highlights that Minopex currently operates and maintains 14 mineral processing plants, 13 of which are in the African countries of Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania, with an international client in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of growing interest throughout Southern Africa, the South African-born company has established Minopex Lesotho, Minopex Botswana and Minopex Mozambique to overcome cross-border challenges and ensure smooth operations in these countries.

“This first step towards growing and diversifying provided clients with the full Minopex [high-]quality service offering, with the added advantage of being localised and, therefore, adapted to each country’s specific regulations in terms of labour and mining and other governing laws,” highlights Abela.

Further, Minopex Quality Laboratory Services (QLS) offers specialised laboratory services and analytical facilities to various industries. The range of expertise offered by QLS encompasses everything from mineral samples and wastewater and potable water treatment to microbiological analysis. QLS has a containerised laboratory based in Tanzania which services the surrounding areas.

QLS processes over 9 000 samples a month, with a turnaround time of less than 24 hours on most samples, adds Minopex.

Engineering Services
Reddy asserts that, at the heart of Minopex’s reputation for excellence, is a team of highly qualified and expertly skilled engineers.

“Through Engineering Services South Africa, Minopex aims to provide clients with a team of experts and equipment for planned and unplanned maintenance shutdowns, emergency breakdown support and engineering commissioning, anytime and anywhere,” says Reddy.

She explains that operating out of a locally based workshop, Engineering Services Mozambique (Ensermo) was established to provide high-quality engineering services for mines and industries in Mozambique, as well as ports, harbours, steelworks and production facilities. The workshop has the capacity to produce up to 200 t of steel fabrication each month.

“All engineers are highly trained and expertly qualified to deliver on all client needs in an efficient manner. Ensermo has a very simple philosophy: all engineering solutions are tailored to each individual client’s needs . . . from upgrading to the fabrication of steel structures,” says Abela.

M&E Plant
The Minopex mobile equipment division M&E Plant manages and maintains internal mobile plant equipment and yellow metal at all existing Minopex sites, as well as the provision of contract hire to external clients that require plant for materials handling, load and haul operations, and construction.

“The primary objective of M&E Plant is to extend Minopex’s service offering [used by] existing contracts and clients to include the supply of heavy plant and equipment, as required with a [high-]quality, cost-efficient support team,” highlights Reddy.

Its workshop handles complete refurbishments and repairs, including routine maintenance and inspections, and the replacement of major components. M&E Plant machine operators and mechanics, as well as field service technicians, receive regular training from original-equipment manufacturer suppliers and are tested continuously to maintain a standard of excellence.

Small Projects
Minopex also offers dedicated specialised work and training (SWAT) teams that are able to assist with the efficient ramp-up and commissioning to nameplate capacity of any mineral processing plant. Whether a greenfield or brownfield operation, the Minopex SWAT teams are considered “unrivalled in turning operations around in the quickest, most efficient and most cost-effective way possible”, emphasises Minopex.

With operating experience covering various commodities, including coal, platinum, diamonds, iron-ore and gold, the SWAT teams have every aspect of the commissioning of mineral processing plants covered.

“The teams are made up as per plant requirements. These often include shift superintendents, senior process operators and control room operators tasked with bringing a recently constructed plant into production, [as] the client may still be training personnel,” Reddy adds.