Australian mining solutions provider Runge will use this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba to introduce itself to the South African mining industry under its new name – RungePincockMinarco.

 

The new name represents the union of three mining solutions providers which are now part of the largest independent group of mining technical experts in the world, says RungePincockMinarco regional GM for export marketing and investment assistance Mike Evans.

Runge announced in December that it would, along with its wholly owned subsidiaries Pincock Allen & Holt, from the Americas, and Minarco-MineConsult, from the Asia Pacific region, relaunch worldwide under the new unifying name.

“The Investing in African Mining Indaba is the biggest mining event of its kind in Africa; therefore, it made sense to exhibit at the event, as the entire African mining industry will be together in one place,” says Evans.

 

He adds that, if Africa is to remain a force in the global community, events like this serve as a forum to bring together key powers.

 

Evans says the company will have a booth at the Cape Town event, from February 4 to 7, showcasing its suite of software, which includes mine scheduling, financial modelling and visualisation software applications.

“Traditionally, mining software solutions have been engineering-focused stand-alone applications, but our clients are increasingly pointing out that integration of the software into their back office and other systems is important.

“We will share some new developments in this area, which take RungePincockMinarco’s industry-standard products and combine them to create an integrated framework that makes management and data integrity easy to ensure,” he explains.

 

The company will also present its roadmap for future product development to Mining Indaba delegates, detailing its move into enterprise applications.

Further, Evans says the company will promote its professional development courses at the event, covering technical training and advanced training in the use of its software packages.

In preparation for the event, the company has collaborated with its worldwide network, comprising 18 offices in 12 countries, to define and speak to the challenges that the mining industry is facing worldwide.

Evans says the main challenge locally is overcoming the perception that Africa is terminally corrupt, specifically where government intervention or participation is prevalent.

 

“The only solution is to increase transparency in these dealings. “In South Africa, we also have to address labour militancy and productivity issues to regain the lost investor confidence, exacerbated by the reputational damage done during last year’s strikes in the mining sector,” he adds.

Evans states that South Africa has always been regarded as a premier destination for mining in Africa, but is currently seen as “just another African country”.

“Rigid policy decisions and unfriendly business regulations are forcing global mining companies to rethink their South African investments.

“We need regulators who understand mining and the global business context to make smart decisions to attract and retain foreign investments in the country’s resource sector,” he says.

Evans notes that RungePincockMinarco is building on its African footprint to support its international customers as they increasingly take an interest in Africa by using its expertise on the continent to add value to their projects.

“Our South African offices are also the springboard for the company’s growth plans into India and the Middle East,” he notes.

“The African mining industry is poised for real growth, if it can overcome its fundamental challenges.

“Africa will continue to remain significant to the global resource industry because of the amount of mineral resources it hosts, but it has to become easier to do business here than in the developed countries, where political and sovereign risk is minimal,” he concludes.