Modern Mining April 2015

COUNTRY FOCUS – ZAMBIA

AMC – a consultancy with a long Copperbelt track record

While it would probably be true to say that the greatest concentration of mining consultancy skills in Africa resides in South Africa, and specifically Johannes- burg, this is not to say that some African countries do not have their own home- grown expertise. Serving the Copperbelt in Zambia, for example, is African Min- ing Consultants (AMC), a company which has created a formidable reputation since being formed in 1994 and which has worked over the past 21 years for just about every mine in Zambia. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently spoke to AMC’s General Manager, Edwin Mukonka, at the company’s offices in Kitwe.

E xplaining the background to AMC, Mukonka says it was founded by Martin Broome in 1994. “Martin came to Zambia in the 1970s,” he says. “He was an MSc graduate in Rock Mechanics of Imperial College, London, and – after arriving on the Copperbelt – enjoyed a long career with ZCCM, the state mining com- pany, which saw him eventually becoming Group Rock Mechanic Engineer. He founded AMC in 1994 and his timing was nearly perfect. The second half of the 1990s saw the privatisa- tion of ZCCM’s assets and this process gener- ated a steady flow of work for the new consul- tancy, enabling it to expand quite rapidly.” Broome retired in 2009 (he now lives in Australia) and Mukonka – who joined AMC in 2002 and is one of its shareholders – has led the company since his departure. A Mining Engineering graduate of the University of Zambia, he started his career with Zambia’s Mines Safety Department, which saw him being seconded to the Luanshya copper mine near Ndola, now defunct but, in its day, one of the pillars of the Copperbelt. He heads AMC’s mining division (AMC Mining Services) and has expertise in – among other disciplines – mine planning and design, open-pit optimi- sation, drill-and-blast design, geological and resource modelling, mine audits and mine studies (from the scoping study stage through to full feasibility). Mukonka is also an expert in Geovia’s Surpac and Whittle software. “We are, in fact, the distributor for Geovia in Zambia and this constitutes a very healthy side of our business,” he says. “Our relationships with the mines means that we are well suited to marketing the Geovia range. Apart from sales, we also provide

training on the software and this keeps us very busy as there is hardly a mine in Zambia which does not make use of the products.” Although it started as a mining consul- tancy, AMC has subsequently branched out into exploration (AMC Exploration Services) and environmental work (AMC Environmental Services). It has also diversified geographically since its founding. Although the bulk of its workload has been – and remains – in Zambia and the neighbouring DRC (in particular Katanga Province), it has undertaken contracts all over the continent – as far south as Richards Bay in South Africa and as far north as Mauritania, Eritrea and Sudan. It operates over all com- modities but, given its history and location, is especially recognised for its expertise in copper. Interestingly, AMC Exploration Services is headed by Thomas Rogers, who is based between Gaborone in Botswana and Kitwe in Zambia. He received his BSc (Hons) in Geology from St Andrews University in Scotland. He has extensive experience in Africa, having worked in over 10 countries on the continent, and played a prominent role – while represent- ing AMC – in the world class Kamoa copper discovery near Kolwezi in the DRC – reputedly the largest newly discovered undeveloped cop- per deposit on the planet! Rogers, along with Dr David Broughton, Executive VP of Exploration at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (the owner of Kamoa), and other members of the discovery team were honoured earlier this year when they received the prestigious Thayer Lindsley Award from the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). The award, which is presented annually by the PDAC, recognises an individ- ual or a team of explorationists credited with a recent significant mineral discovery or series of

Edwin Mukonka, GM of African Mining Consultants (AMC).

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44  MODERN MINING  April 2015