Jaap Nel stepped down as CEO and as a member of the board of directors of mining solutions company Fraser Alexander, which is a subsidiary of Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), on October 13.

The decision was mutually agreed upon by the board and Fraser Alexander’s shareholders.

Nel was employed as the MD of Fraser Alexander Bulk Mech and an executive director of Fraser Alexander in December 2002. He served as CEO of Fraser Alexander from 2012.

The board has appointed nonexecutive director Velile Nhlapo as interim CEO, while it has set a six-month deadline to find a suitable successor.

In an exclusive interview with Mining Weekly, Nhlapo, who is also the CEO of the 100% RBH-owned Mining, Oil & Gas Services (MOGS) Group’s MOGS Mining Services division, says it is the right time to introduce new leadership as the shareholders start to embark on a different strategic journey from the current one.

“It was a bold and unselfish decision by Nel to step down as CEO, but it was his view that introducing ‘fresh legs’, unfettered by the market and internal change demands of the past three years, is critical to enable the company to pursue its new role in RBH’s strategic agenda”, says Nhlapo.

RBH is putting a Mining Services platform in place under MOGS that will result in the company combining its subsidiaries serving the mining sector into a single entity with a shared services business model to list the entity in the shortest feasible timeframe.

To achieve this, it is envisaged that the subsidiaries integrate into the MOGS Mining Services platform and internationalisation strategy. This will enable RBH to provide specialised mining services across the whole mining value chain. Nhlapo adds that, in essence, this is a cradle-to-grave approach.

The subsidiaries that form part of MOGS Mining Services include stope support companies Elbroc and StopeTek Technology Services, specialised exploration and drilling companies Geoserve Exploration Drilling and Booysen Bore Drilling Company, multidisciplinary engineering companies Trident SA and M-Tech Industrial, local mining consultancy The MSA Group and Fraser Alexander.

The idea of establishing the Integrated Mining Services platform is to create and unlock value in South Africa, create synergies in and among the respective companies, and focus on expansion outside South Africa.