Johannesburg, with its surrounding industrial areas, remains an undisputed centre of mining engineering excellence and one of the major global hubs for mining services and manufacturing. In recent years, with the explosion of mining activity across the rest of Africa, it has become the go-to centre for procurement, supply chain and other logistics functions by international mining companies seeking supplies and services for their operations in other African countries.
International mining companies and their supply chain and procurement agents are setting up shop in the city to access professional services and procure supplies for delivery to remote mine sites. International mining equipment manufacturers are also basing themselves in Johannesburg because of its established logistics routes to other African markets. All this, together with a well-established local manufacturing base ready for export, has made Johannesburg an important and vibrant centre for procuring and delivering mining supplies and services into the rest of Africa.
“Johannesburg has always been an important mining hub”, says Paul Miller, who is responsible for Mining Finance, Corporate and Investment Banking at Nedbank, not only for the act of mining itself but also for the supply of goods and services that support the industry. “In fact, just months after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, diggers began to exhaust the easily worked oxide ores near the surface. They needed to go deeper by sinking shafts, erecting mine headgear, shipping stamp mills from Europe and dragging steam engines all the way from the coast. From this was born one of the great industrial centres for the supply of goods and services to the mining industry. This was the foundation of the modern industrial economy of both Johannesburg and South Africa.”
This important sector of the economy continues to grow as it spreads its footprint elsewhere in Africa. However, challenges still exist, such as the fact that infrastructure remains poor or non-existent and business conditions are opaque and complex. Innovative, flexible approaches to procurement and supply chain design and execution are therefore required, both of which need to be unique and responsive to their varying environments.
Mining Services 4 Africa, in collaboration with Resources 4 Africa, the team that organizes the highly-acclaimed Junior and Joburg Indabas, is pleased to announce the launch of the first ever Cross-Border Mining Services (CBMS) Africa Indaba. The event will take place on 26 – 28 March 2018 and will bring together senior-level professionals from mining companies, mining contractors, EPCMs, logistics companies, 3PL/4PL providers and finance and legal institutions to find solutions to the varied challenges which the African mining industry faces when procuring and transporting goods and services across the continent.
A wide variety of topics will be discussed during a two-day conference, which includes an analysis of the pros and cons of the different types of supply chain, strategies for alleviating constraints in cross-border supply chains, how to fund the movement of goods in and around Africa, the changing role of the procurement manager and the power of responsible procurement and conflict-free minerals, to name just a few.
In addition, there will be a one-day pre-event workshop dedicated to helping procurement and supply chain professionals manage the legal and tax challenges when exporting goods in and around Africa.
Speakers confirmed to date include senior representatives from: Debswana, Mopani Copper Mines, Alphamin Resources, Nacala Corridor (part of Vale), Montero Mining, SENET, DRA, Masimong Group, Metso South Africa, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Nedbank, DSV, Afrilog, PwC and ProEthics.
The event is also supported by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).
For more information on the conference, please visit: www.crossbordermining.com or call +27 (0) 11 463 7799 or emailkevin@resources4africa.com
