Modern Mining August 2024

COVER STORY

Beowolf Mining targets growth in Africa Beowolf Mining, a leading supplier of drilling consumables to the quarrying and mining sectors, has set its sights firmly on expanding its footprint into Africa. Director of sales Riaan Theron highlights the company’s African expansion strategy as well as key trends influencing the drilling market.

H aving traditionally served the South African mining market, Beowolf Mining has adopted an expansion strategy to grow its business in Africa. While the South African mining sector is grappling with its own challenges, Theron believes that the local market will remain an important mining destination for years to come. However, says Theron, issues such as legislative uncertainty, the lack of exploration investment as well as energy constraints, are impacting new investment in mining. In the wake of these documented challenges, Beowolf Mining has taken a strategic decision to expand its geographical footprint and diversify its business into new commodity areas. “Our African expansion drive started some five years ago, with initial focus on West Africa, particularly Burkina Faso and Guinea, where we have already secured business from two big mining houses. We have identified a big gap in terms of both quality product and good service in these markets,” says Theron. “The expansion into West Africa complements our existing cross border business in key markets such as Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia.” Despite the focus on Africa, Theron is still positive about prospects of growth in South Africa. “In spite of the existing

challenges, I am of the view that the government will prioritise a conducive environment for more mining investment,” he says. New suppliers and availability Commenting on some new trends in the drilling consumables market, Theron has observed an influx of new suppliers in the market, but notes that many of them do not last long. The reason for their early demise is that many of the new suppliers are importing their drilling consumables from overseas traders and not necessarily from manufacturers, which makes it difficult for them to provide the necessary aftermarket support for their products. To run a sustainable drilling consumables business, there is need for consistent quality and ‘value for money’ for the client, he stresses. One of the biggest emerging trends, notes Theron, is the need for stock availability, not only in the drilling consumables market, but across the mining supply chain. Maintaining adequate inventory has become critical for the product intensive mining industry. “In mining, time is money, and therefore clients expect their suppliers to carry sufficient stock to meet their operational needs. This is despite the current challenges with our South African ports and general

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