Modern Mining August 2023

IRON ORE

Afrimat targets acquisitive and organic growth Mid-tier miner, Afrimat’s success is underpinned by its diversified portfolio, but is there a threshold to the number of acquisitions to be made? According to CEO Andries van Heerden, although the company currently has a really good product split, there is defi nitely capacity for one or two more product lines to be added to the business. “Specific commodities that we do not have in the portfolio, yet.” By Nelendhre Moodley .

“ W e can still grow because our base is rela tively small. Importantly, growth is a key part of Afrimat’s DNA and our intention is to continue to grow the business,” he explains. In a recent turn of events, Afrimat announced the acquisition of Lafarge South Africa Holdings (LSA), including all its subsidiaries (LSA Group) for $6 mil lion. The acquisition will be housed in Afrimat’s Construction Materials division, which together with its subsidiaries (the Afrimat Group) supply a wide variety of aggregates and concrete-based products to the market. “A key focus of Afrimat is our conscious opera tional efficiency initiatives, which are aimed at expanding volumes, reducing costs, and developing the required skill levels across all staffing categories. This exciting deal forms part of the Afrimat Group’s

ongoing diversification strategy and will increase Afrimat’s offering in the construction industry by expanding our quarry and readymix operations nationally, and allowing for Afrimat to enter the cement value chain competitively.” Since its inception in 2006, Afrimat has made several acquisitions including, amongst others, the Demaneng iron-ore mine in 2016, Coza Mining which owned three mines namely Jenkins, Driehoekspan and Doornpan, in 2020, and the Nkomati anthracite mine in 2021. Afrimat’s business consists of Construction Materials, Industrial Materials, Bulk Commodities and Future Materials and Metals segments with a strong portfolio of producing assets and a robust pipeline of future projects, which are in the early stages of development. “We have a pipeline of existing business, such as

CEO Andries van Heerden.

Afrimat’s Brewelskloof Quarry in the Western Cape.

12  MODERN MINING  August 2023