Capital Equipment News August 2019

CRUSHING

B&E International has developed its own mobile, track-mounted coal crushing unit that is configured to the needs of the coal market.

Giving emerging contractors a strong technical foundation

To give upcoming contractors the traction they need in a merciless contract mining environment, crushing specialist B&E International is establishing strategic alliances with emerging contractors operating across several commodity areas. In these partnerships, B&E International assumes the role of technical partner, providing both the equipment and technical skills needed to execute projects, while mentoring the JV partner in the process, writes Munesu Shoko .

T hat the development of emerging mining ety of challenges that hinder their success – chief among them is the lack of technical aptitude and capacity to raise finance to buy the capital equipment they need to execute the projects. Ken Basson, Director Plant & Engineering at B&E International, says contract mining is capital intensive, especially considering that the capital equipment required to execute the projects is expensive, making it particularly prohibitive for emerging contractors. Apart from financing, these entities also lack the technical knowhow to execute complex mining projects. With that in mind, B&E International is partnering emerging contractors that are willing to draw from its over four decades of experience in designing, engineering, building and operating its own mobile and static plants contractors takes priority in South Africa is no secret. While there is much talk about awarding mining projects to emerging contractors, the young companies are still confronted by a vari-

on a toll basis for clients across an array of commodity areas. In these joint ventures, B&E International assumes the role of technical partner, providing both the equipment and the technical aptitude needed to execute the projects. In the process, B&E International also upskills the emerging contractors, helping them develop in order to become major players in the industry. “A major challenge for emerging contractors is that the cost price of mining projects is generally very high. In the end they have to contend with very large capital costs to start off the project. This is where we come in – not only to help them to get started, but also to develop to become major participants in the industry,” says Basson. He explains that when B&E International enters into a strategic partnership with an emerging contractor, it typically focuses on the technical side of the project and the JV partner (the emerging contractor) focuses on the operational related aspects of the project. “By using our resources and in-house manufacturing capabilities, we minimise the capital cost for our JV

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