Despite testing circumstances in the local mining industry, mineral processing equipment and solutions provider Multotec’s business is progressing well, with the group focusing on offering an improved services proposition to its mining customers across Africa, says Multotec CEO Thomas Holtz.

These service enhancements include a substantial investment in upgrading its Johannesburg-based knowledge centre, completed this year, for training sessions and to expand the group’s African footprint.

Holtz emphasises the importance of Africa and its mining industry as a key “home market” for Multotec.

“As Multotec aims to be a dominant player in its product lines throughout Africa, the group views it as critical to remain informed about the changing resource cycles and the new upcoming projects and expansions across the continent,” Holtz tells Mining Weekly.

The group will, therefore, attend the Investing in African Mining Indaba this year to gain insight into key anticipated mining developments, which is vital for the group in its strategic redirections.

The Mining Indaba will run from February 8 to 11 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Multotec’s service offering includes optimisation of the existing flow sheets that constitute part of processing plants.

Improving the efficiency of products through customer product training sessions leads to process optimisation, which, in turn, leads to a reduction in the mine’s cost-per-ton operation, improved recoveries and cost effectiveness when resource prices fluctuate,” Holtz explains.

He cites a diamond producer’s operations in Botswana as an example, pointing out that this producer has, through Multotec, specifically improved its operating efficiencies and, as a result, reduced its operating costs at some of its mineral processing operations.

“Multotec continues to build its capacity in this discipline,” Holtz says, adding that mastering this capacity requires time, experienced professionals and a sound knowledge and understanding of processing plants.

Training Hub
The group’s value proposition to the mineral processing industry includes equipment optimisation in various applications, which is complemented by its focus on training.

“Multotec has significant training capacity at its premises in Kempton Park, in addition to having accumulated material capability to offer advanced training to plant personnel,” Holtz says.

He notes that training can focus on dense- media separation, screening, sampling and operational efficiencies.

To supplement its training capacity, Multotec has conducted upgrades of significant value at its knowledge centre, which will serve as an in-house staff training centre and cater for external trainees.

The upgrades and improvements started at the end of November 2015 and include a technologically advanced auditorium that is equipped with live video streaming and enables local branches and offsite operations to access information.

Holtz believes that, with the gradual skills depletion and the difficulties in retaining experience at mining operations, there is a need for training, particularly for more specific product application-based training. This can include training on optimal running conditions for plant equipment, as well as equipment flow rates and wear rate management.

The group also aims to get its training endorsed by credible institutions.

“These developments support Multotec’s service offering as it has a vested interest in seeing the mining industry flourish,” Holtz stresses.

Multotec provided training for 315 trainees in 2015 and aims to increase the number of trainees to more than 500 this year.

African Footprint
Through its operations and several maintenance contracts with a significant client in Botswana, Multotec intends to further build a stronger platform in Africa.

Apart from running maintenance contracts for at least three years in Botswana, the group has an established facility and warehouse in Letlhakane, Holtz adds, and it will have a full trading licence this year.

The group’s other African facilities are based in Tete, Mozambique; in Accra, Ghana; in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and in Chingola, Zambia. The company also services the Democratic Republic of Congo through its Zambian facility.

“As business proliferates, it will enable Multotec to finance additional capacity to expand these platforms,” Holtz says.

Botswana remains a growth opportunity, while West Africa presents substantial potential, owing to the mining industry’s focus on several new gold projects, he notes.

Although demand for capital equipment currently remains fairly stagnant, Multotec continues to supply consumables for existing operations, Holtz says, emphasising that the group’s strengths lie in a range of minerals and metals – from coal and diamonds to iron-ore and platinum.

“The group has weathered tough times. This is not the first and will not be the last and, under these circumstances, Multotec aims to prove its mettle,” he avers.