It is not only large blue-chip mining companies that are opting for a premium product and technical after-sales support from Weir Minerals Africa. Small mining operations in its sub-Saharan African and Middle East territories are also partnering with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). These operations include aggregate and sand producers, who have become a very strategic growth market for Weir Minerals Africa, says Rene Calitz, the company’s head of strategy and marketing.

She reports ongoing success with the company’s Trio® comminution equipment, especially in the quarrying environment.

The company recently received a contract for a 300 tonne per hour plant in Zambia, followed by its latest comminution project in the Middle East - a 400 tonne per hour crushing and screening operation in Saudi Arabia. She says the success that Weir Minerals Africa is enjoying in this market can be attributed to the company’s commitment to lowering the total cost of ownership of its customers’ operations.

The OEM achieves this through its extensive research and development programme that is geared at improving longevity of wear items, while constantly improving the overall performance of existing solutions. Complementing this strategy is the solid footprint that Weir Minerals Africa has developed on the continent. It has facilities in all the major mining centres in sub-Saharan Africa. This infrastructure is being used to support those quarries operating in countries across South Africa’s borders where aggregate and sand is in high demand for large infrastructure delivery programmes.

In a more recent development, JD Singleton, general manager of the Trio® and Enduron® comminution equipment ranges for Weir Minerals Africa, says the company complemented already sizeable technical support infrastructure with dedicated comminution field service teams. These will mainly be geared at boosting response times for quarry operators in sub-Saharan Africa.

While many OEMs and suppliers have cut back on their parts stockholding, Weir Minerals Africa has retained high levels at its facility in Alrode, Gauteng, South Africa. At the same time, a new parts inventory warehouse is being built in Dubai to service the buoyant aggregate and sand production industries in the Middle East.

Calitz says that these initiatives are in line with Weir Minerals Africa’s strategy of ensuring a sustainable business model where, just like its large mining customers, quarries will continue using its solutions.

As Singleton notes, small owner-operator quarries are also realising the benefits of using a premium brand that is supported by its own internal engineers and technicians. “We bring skills that are able to optimise their plants, increase availability and boost their production levels,” says Singleton. Clearly, Weir Minerals Africa’s policy of providing the same level of service to mines of all sizes is paying off.