Richards Bay-headquartered heavy-equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment, which has several large-scale South Africa-based projects in the 2015 pipeline, will exhibit its new B60 articulated dump truck (ADT) mining range at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from February 9 to 12.

The greenfield projects include a coal project in Mpumalanga, an iron-ore project in the Northern Cape and a phosphate project in the Western Cape.

Inspite of these projects, Bell Equipment sales and marketing director Terry Gillham warns that South Africa needs to find sustainable solutions for the labour, power and water challenges currently facing its mining industry, and that the country has to work on reforming its tax regime to make it more investor friendly.

“South Africa’s recent credit rating downgrade by financial ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service has not helped. This was largely due to a lack of progress with the National Development Plan and poor economic growth. I believe that if we don’t get our act together in the next five years, the country, with regard to the mining industry, will not be able to compete with other industries on the world mining market,” he elaborates.

Gillham hopes that the state of the local mining industry and that of other Africa markets will take centre stage at the indaba discussion. He points out that the African mining industry seems to be replete with uncertainty, and that governments need to focus on how to attract investment.

“Without new projects in Africa, there will be no new job creation or opportunities. “Large, reputable, global players are looking for security of tenure and, if we can’t make the continent investor friendly, these companies will simply use opportunities in other mining regions, such as Australia, Russia, Chile or Indonesia, in countries where they would feel more secure because there is less risk.

“I am hoping that people at the indaba will stand up and tell it like it is, and that we see some positive changes as a result,” he states.

Gillham says that, despite the South African mining industry experiencing pressure as an aftereffect of the prolonged strike action on the platinum belt and depressed world commodity prices, Bell has continued to sell fleets of Bell ADTs across the mining spectrum.

“This has enabled us to firmly retain and entrench our position as a market leader across the mining board and is a major achievement for us, especially since business has been tough and the ADT market has been fiercely competitive.”

Gillham adds that Bell has invested substantially in new and improved customer service centres in Middelburg and Nelspruit, Mpumalanga; in Rustenburg, in the North West; and in the mining area of Kitwe, in Zambia.

Bell at the Indaba
Gillham tells Mining Weekly that Bell Equipment considers the Mining Indaba an important branding event and that it has been exhibiting its products there for the past three years.

“The indaba is an expensive exercise, but it is also a high-profile event attended by high-profile senior executives representing mining and supply companies, as well as banks and investment firms. Further, the indaba has grown in stature over the years to become the largest mining conference in the world. “In my opinion, it is non-negotiable for a company to be present if it is serious about mining and, particularly, mining in Africa,” elaborates Gillham.

He advises first-time attendees to keep their marketing message short, adding that Bell Equipment’s message this year is that the company is serious about mining and has equipment to support the industry.

Gillham concludes that the indaba is also an important platform for staying informed about the latest developments regarding ongoing mining projects on the continent.