Executive Insight Magazine Issue 50

EXECUTIVE INSIGHT

ReviewAgricultural European

A look into the challenges being faced across the continent throughout this year and how we can overcome such obstacles in 2023.

Phillip Horsch, MD of Horsch Maschinen, discusses their strategic investments and growth, as they continue to be a leading force in the worldwide supply of farming equipment

ISSUE 50 INTRODUCTION

Dear Valued readers,

It gives me great pleasure to bring you Issue 50 of Executive Insight Magazine. In this edition, we focus heavily on the importance of the European Agricul tural sector and issues faced throughout the year, as Europe recorded its hottest summer since records began. With droughts and water shortages, the hot temperatures recorded are ultimately having an adverse effect on crop production and projections for yields in 2023. This will cause inflated food prices and more so, export shortages in other regions worldwide which rely heav ily on Europe’s crop production for imports on much needed raw materials, for various products across the food manufacturing sector. This is on top of the Rus sian invasion of Ukraine and the backing out of Russia’s participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. We face shortages that haven’t been seen since the outbreak of World War II and governments need to act now and fast to avoid such disasters.

As part of the review on European Farming, our lead interview for Issue 50 is with Philipp Horsch, MD of one of Europe’s most innovative farming equip ment manufacturers, HORSCH Maschinen. We look at their consistent year-onyear growth and their plans for further international growth over the next 1218 months after substantial investment in their European operations and their brand-new facility in Brazil.

We also speak with Justin Werner, MD of Australian ASX-listed Nickel Industries. Nickel Industries are continuously investing in its flagship Indonesian operations and are quickly becoming a new global force in the production of Nickel. Not only investing in their operations as a viable source for expansion, but also acquisitions are a means of future growth too.

Other important business operations and developments covered in this edition are Cornish Metals and their visions of kickstarting the UK’s mining and production of Tin. Kinetiko Energy and the rapid development of their Amersfoort Project. UNITEL Angola’s continued network expansion for communications and 5G and lastly, the highly anticipated DUQM Refinery construction project based in Oman.

The Executive Insight team and I, really hope you enjoy reading through Issue 50.

Sincere best wishes, Jon Bradley Head of Editorial Content

CONTENTS

European Agricultural & Food Production Review

This short-term market outlook is driven by the negative impact of the hot and dry weather that affected large parts of the EU, by the im pact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on en ergy prices, leading to concerns about inputs costs and their supply and future crop conditions, and by food price inflation, likely to also impact EU consum er decisions. This outlook is subject to a high degree of uncertainty linked to developments in Ukraine, includ ing Ukraine’s capacity to produce, store and export its commodities. Overall, it is assumed that there will be no further worsening of an already very challenging situation. Weather conditions in the EU deteriorat ed exceptionally in summer 2022, one of the hottest summers in recorded history, with record hot and/or dry conditions. According to the JRC’s Combined Drought Indicator, at the beginning of September 2022, 33% of the European territory was in warning conditions and 26% in alert conditions. Several countries restrict ed water use for irrigation; in some regions, very low water reservoir levels made field irrigation impossible. Summer crop yields have been significantly affected, in particular grain maize, soybeans and sunflower.

Droughts were observed in most parts of the EU, especially in Spain, France, central and northern Italy, central Germa ny, and Hungary, affecting the growth of summer crops and flower fertility, resulting in lower yields. Pastures were also under stress in most European regions, linked to dry condi tions, particularly in western and central Europe. In addi tion, heat stress to animals also contributed to lower produc tivity in the livestock sector. At

the same time, a combination of animal disease outbreaks (African Swine Fever, Avian flu) and high input prices weigh on the EU meat production, while meat prices are increasing as well. The EU pigmeat produc tion notably is expected to decrease by 5% in 2022. The Russian invasion of Ukraine makes uncertainties and eco nomic impacts in the EU (and Ukraine, an important agri-food producer and exporter) even more visible and of bigger

concern. At the moment, the most noticeable impact of the conflict is on energy markets, in particular natural gas. The price of natural gas in the EU reached new record levels in the sum mer, leading to additional input costs for the EU food supply chain and further fuelling infla tion. Linked to the energy price surge, another major concern for agriculture is the availability and cost of fertilizers for the upcoming season, as fertilizer industries need natural gas to

produce ammonia and other nitrogen products, reducing or halting production when pric es are too high. The reduced nitrogen fertilizer production capacity affects crop produc tion and other agri-food sectors as well, as by-products of the process include CO2 used by the beverage and food process ing sectors.

The signature of the ‘Black Sea Grain Initiative’ by the United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation on 27

July, together with the func tioning of the EU Solidarity Lanes eased the pressure on international commodity prices. These allowed the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports amid the ongoing war. Trade via Soli darity Lanes remains significant, although without further infra structure investments the limits in terms of volume are close to be reached. From May until the end of September, about 12.5 million t of grains, oilseeds and related products were trans

ported via Solidarity Lanes. The Black Sea Grain initiative expires after 120 days but would auto matically be prolonged unless any of the parties objects. There is still uncertainty surrounding the extension of the Black Sea ports agreement, which, contra ry to the Solidarity Lanes, only allows for exporting grains and no imports of any kind whatso ever. Beyond agricultural pro duction, the war in Ukraine con tinues putting a break on the EU economic growth forecasts, with

uncertainties about the possibilities of real GDP growth in 2023. Inflation in the euro area is also expected to remain high in 2022, at +8.1%, and continue in 2023. Food inflation in particular reached the level of 14% in August, becoming the second contributor to inflation after energy and affecting particu larly prices of essential food items such as bread, milk, eggs and cheese as well as oils and fats.

The upward pressure on producer prices is not expected to re lax in the short term mainly due to ongoing uncertainties on how the war in Ukraine will unfold in the future and the ongoing im pact on the price and

availability of energy. These are inevitably rising production costs, along the whole food supply chain (e.g. electricity, processing, packaging, transport, cooling and heating), posing difficulties for all-size enterprises but for small and medium ones in particular. Pro ducer prices of agricul tural commodities are expected to continue weighing on consumer prices, remaining his torically high despite a decline observed in summer following the reduction of commodi ty prices.

Farmers are under the double pressure of processors and dis tributors who want to preserve their oper ating margins, and further down the food

chain by consumers who are facing increas ing costs of living that may result in reduced food demand. Such a demand reduction is already expected in several sectors for the coming months, and further changes in consumer preferences could be expected to preserve disposable income, i.e. more retail shopping and less food service, or pur chasing more ‘private labels’ than branded products. At a global level, another visible consequence of the fight against inflation is the increase in interest rates by central banks. The strengthening of the US dollar at a global level has caused a record depreciation of the euro, with an exchange rate below parity for the first time in 20 years. While this depreciation could have positive effects on trade competitiveness, as exports become cheaper, a weaker euro also implies more cost ly imports, not only for energy products such as oil and natural gas but also for agricultur al inputs such as feed and fertilizers. Fears of a global recession, as well as the stronger US dollar, are current ly driving oil prices downwards, however OPEC+ countries have planned to cut oil pro duction to bring prices again towards USD 100/bbl.

at

markets, a combination of the drought and high fertilizer prices resulting in lower application rates of P and K, also contributed to lower yields for the 2022/23 harvest.

Looking at specific EU agricultural markets, a combination of the drought and high fertilizer prices resulting in lower application rates of P and K, also contributed to lower yields for the 2022/23 harvest. As a result, total EU cereal production is now forecast to be 7.8% lower year-on-year, with maize showing the largest re duction in production: -23.7%. However, thanks to higher ending stocks in 2021/22, EU cereal exports could still grow (+6.5%), and therefore continue to contribute to global food security. For oilseeds, given high prices and the tem porary derogation to allow the cultivation of certain crops on set-aside land, the area under oilseed crops is expected to reach an all-time high, however with lower yields for sunflower and soya beans, returning an increase of total oilseed production to +7.5% year-on-year. EU sugar prices reached record levels since the start of the postquota era in October 2017, but sugar production is expected to decline by 6.9% due to hot and dry summer. EU protein crops production is estimated to increase by +1.4% year-on-year, thanks to higher yields. Regard ing specialized crops, EU olive oil production is expected to decline in 2022/23 by 25%, with a drop observed in almost all main EU producing countries, except Greece. To some extent, the lower availability is likely to be covered by in creased imports while EU exports could decline, especially to some more pricesensitive markets. In addition, lower availability in main EU produc ing countries and ongoing pressure on consumer prices might lead to an EU consumption decline (-9%). EU wine consumption could resume its historically decreasing trend from 23 L to 22.6 L per capita. EU consumption of fresh apples is expected to go slightly down to 12 kg per cap ita, mainly due to a rising inflation pressure and a general reduction in fresh fruit consumption, but higher storage costs due to higher electric ity price, the high production in Poland and the expected lower quality should increase the share of usable apple production used in processing. EU orange production is expected to decline to one of the lowest levels since 2015/16, due to adverse weather conditions particularly in Spain. Even though this is expected to result in

higher prices, the quantities destined for fresh consumption could decrease less than that for processing. Regarding dairy products, the drought worsened grass availability and quality, in addition to lower yields of main crops used for feed. These factors could contribute to a decline in EU milk production (-0.5%), driven by lower yield growth as well as further dairy herd re duction. The milk content (both fat and protein) could also be impacted negatively, thus reducing the availability for milk processing even more. Among dairy products, only EU cream produc tion is expected to grow, absorbing a large part of fat availability. Anticipation of even higher processing costs for drying milk powders over the winter could likely result in some tensions in the supply of butter in upcoming months, and the annual production is expected to drop.

Overall, a drop in EU exports is expected, driv en by lower shipments of EU milk powders while domestic use of dairy products could remain stable in 2022. EU beef production is expected to decrease by 0.6% in 2022, due mainly to a struc tural adjustment in the beef and dairy sector, de spite high beef prices. EU exports could decrease by 1%, due to record-high domestic prices and despite good export prospects to some existing high-value markets. EU imports from the UK and Brazil are on the rise. Sustained high feed costs as well as African Swine Fever (ASF) continue to dis courage EU pigmeat production growth, which is expected to decrease by 5% in 2022. While China is returning to its pre-ASF import levels, some EU pigmeat exports find their way to the UK and to other overseas destinations, despite high EU pigmeat prices. EU poultry production growth continues to be limited by high input prices – es pecially feed and energy – and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. In addition, very high EU poultry prices mean less competitive exports. On the other hand, the suspension of duties on prod ucts coming from Ukraine favors poultry imports. Despite the historically low EU sheep and goat flock, slaughtering’s are not expected to go down in 2022, despite differences among EU countries. EU imports should resume in 2022 and 2023 but still below pre-COVID levels, leading to sustained high domestic prices.

Growing

aFuture

Bavaria-based Horsch Maschinen, a leading global manufacturer of innovative agricultural technology and modern solutions for soil cultivation, seeding and plant protection, stands firm in the post-pandemic environment, ready to meet the increasing demand.

Horsch Maschinen is a first-generation family business that has grown from nothing up to a global position. Company CEO Philipp Horsch explains that right from the beginning, the business was driven by a passion for farming and the pursuit of innovative solutions for the customer.

Since 1922

We don’t just produce springs, We also know what we’re doing - for more than 100 years

Platzmann federn gmbh & co. kg, headquartered in Hagen, Westphalia, is considered as one of the industry leaders in the field of spring technology. We are dedicated to the production of compression, tension, torsion and flat springs as well as bent wire parts with a wire thickness of 0.08-62 mm.

As a versatile partner in design and production, our products are manufactured individually and according to customer-specific requirements. With one of the world’s most modern machine parks, we operate dynamically and with a high degree of innovation. In doing so, we strive for future-oriented development without losing sight of our traditional values as an owner-operated medium-sized company.

Because future needs a heritage.

“The origins of the company lie not in engineer ing but in farming. In addition to running a ma chine business, we are also farmers, which gives us a unique advantage as we really understand our customers and their needs.”

Beginnings of a successful business

Speaking of the business’s beginnings, he says that while his three brothers remain active in

farming, he himself stuck with his eldest brother Michael and took a different route – one leading to a manufacturing business.

Unlike other farmers, no-till farming has always been part of the Horsch family, he explains.

“In the 1980s, farming without a plough was unthinkable and the accepted general rule was that farming without the regular use of a plough would not work.”

“The Horsch family saw this differently and a dynamic developed to look for alternative approaches. The busi ness really started from scratch in our farm workshops in 1980s where Michael worked on a no-till seed drill that allowed the plac

ing of seed under straw residues. “

The final product of this development stage was the Seed-Ex actor and it did not take long before interest in the ma chine grew beyond the Horsch family. Thus, the seed of Horsch

was planted, a compa ny that was to become a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment with production sites on three continents.

Mr Horsch points out that after two decades of hard work, testing the mar

ket and building a customer base, the business serious ly took off. “From 2000 onwards, we kept growing at high speed. In fact, we are the fastest-growing company ever in the history of the farming sector worldwide. The

Maschinen GmbH

figures say it all – over the last 20 years we have grown 35-fold.”

Key drivers

When asked about the key drivers of this impressive growth, he is quite clear. “Defi nitely the strong family basis. Multiple family

members working together, and working together well. That has been by far the most important element. And that is an element we are trying to implant in the next generation, the majority of whom have a deep interest in the business, and

whom we are slowly bringing in to it. There are 13 children that have grown up with the business, most of them keen on continuing the family legacy.”

There have been other factors, he con tinues, such as a true 100% customer focus.

“Given our farming background, we are extremely close to our customer base. All fam ily members (Michael and his wife Cornelia, Traugott, Theo and myself) spend in total several 100 days per year physically visiting our customers, the

We like to move fast in any respect, to develop fast, to have things done quickly with passion etc.

“ “

farmers, debating their needs and de mands. There’s no other company of our size around the world in this business where the management would do that to this extent. Not a single other one.”

“And last but not least, speed is also an important factor. We like to move fast in any respect, to devel op fast, to have things done quickly with passion etc…. Our global expansion is a testament to this pas sion and this speedy development.”

Worldwide footing

Today Horsch em ploys 2,600 people and runs six produc tion sites: three in Germany, one in the

United States, one in Russia and one in Brazil. The latter is the company’s youngest market, but a highly promising one, where Horsch is currently investing 60 million eu ros – the largest single investment in its his tory – in a brand-new manufacturing site.

“Brazil, where we have been active for several years, has the potential of becom ing our largest single market, and we could soon see ourselves employing 1,000 peo ple there.”

In addition, the company is globally investing another 90 million euros in in creased capacity in its premises, with a view to potentially doubling turnover.

“This exceptional growth over the last two dec ades could not have been achieved without our extremely dedicated workforce, most of whom are willing to go the extra mile every day,” Mr Horsch points out.

“The same goes for our suppliers. We could not have achieved this steep, continued growth with out very, very good partners at our side. We have always tried to establish long-term relationships with our suppliers, and look for ways to benefit each other and grow together. In the end this ap proach builds very strong relationships that over the years may even turn into friendships.”

Comprehensive offering

Being close to its customers is a philosophy the company applies to all its market, near and far. Philipp Horsch explains that unlike other machin ery manufacturers who typically run a dealer net work, with customer communications running on a linear basis, Horsch has established a triangular relationship, meaning that all three stakeholders - the manufacturer, the dealer and the farmercan always connect with each other if needed.

“We have introduced this structure in all our re gions. Our service personnel can assist the dealer and work parallel with the customer. Through that

Market understanding is our key strength, driving innovation forward“ “

strategy, we definitely provide a better ser vice. A direct customer relationship is what really kicked off the start of our company, and it remains a part of our DNA. We stay close to the farmer, we listen to him, we understand him, and together we move forward.”

Naturally, the product has to be right as well, he adds. Today Horsch has a comprehensive of fering of machines that include technology for seeding, tillage, crop care, fertilising, spraying and many more.

“Agricultural produc tion is very diverse and heterogeneous across the world, resulting in an incredibly large product mix. We pro duce around 10,000 machines a year, cate gorised into over 200 product families. Man aging the production, sales and after sales services of this large variety of different products is one of our key competences.”

“Digitisation is a great help in achiev ing this of course, and some aspects of it are applied in the product themselves. Connectiv ity has been one of the focuses of our product development, making sure that all our prod ucts can be connected to the cloud. That has

now been achieved.”

Keeping up with demand

Although market conditions and farm ing practices differ significantly from country to country, Mr Horsch affirms that getting a proper un derstanding of individ ual circumstances and diverse demands is the very basis of mov ing forward. “Market understanding is our key strength, driving innovation forward. We are learning quick ly. We are farmers ourselves, we bring new technologies into certain regions.”

Speaking about pro spective developments, he affirms that the agricultural sector has been experiencing a boom. The global pan demic has not stopped this trend but further accentuated it.

“For the last two decades, consumption of grains has been growing at a rate of 50 million tonnes a year. While the farming sector has so far been able to keep up with this growth and satisfy the demand, it is slowly coming to an end.”

“We are now enter ing a period of general food production scar city, further amplified by unstable weather due to climate change.

One of the ways to handle this challenge is to intensify farming – hence the farming sector has been invest ing greatly and – over the last few years – has been experiencing steep growth on a global scale.”

“This is of course positive for companies like ours but it has a downside too – to keep up with this pre viously unseen level of demand has become a struggle. We are now filling our order books for 2024 as we are completely sold out for 2023. A situation never experienced before. Therefore, we are busily investing in capacity, in people, and in premises as fast as possible.

Feeding the world

However, that is not without its challenges, he admits. Like most sectors of industry, agriculture suffers from staff shortages, an issue that is expected to get worse. “The human resources short age has become the most critical topic, for now as well as for the future. Demographic development is against us. In Germany alone, within the next 10 years, there will be a 7 million people reduced workforce available,

since the baby boom ers will be entering retirement, and this number cannot be replaced as the young people simply aren’t there, nor will they be in the future.”

“This year, for the first time in our history, staff is a limiter to our output. It is not the capacity, the product or markets but a lack of people. Of course, we are trying to address this by various initia tives such as an ex panded apprenticeship programme, reducing shift work and intro ducing flexible work schemes. But the staff shortage remains our biggest concern for the future.”

Despite this, Mr Horsch concludes on a positive note, in sisting that demand is set to continue, as the farming sector remains system-crit ical for a growing population, and Horsch Maschinen will make best use of that development. “Food is the most important thing. We are respon sible for feeding the world, and doing so in a sustainable manner to preserve our living environment. Horsch operates in a sector that is growing and this will remain so in the years to come.”

A

New

Force in Global Nickel

Nickel Industries Limited is an Australian public company now emerging as a globally significant, diversified low-cost nickel producer. The company recently announced it has commenced production of nickel matte from its Hengjaya Rotary Kiln Electric Furnaces (RKEF) which will provide it new exposure to the class 1 nickel market for the electric vehicle supply chain. Managing Director Justin Werner describes the latest company development and its vision to become one of the top ten nickel producers in the world.

Nickel Industries Limited, previously known as Nickel Mines Limited, has gone through some exciting devel opments over the last few years, reflected in the name change itself and signifying the company’s transition from an explorer and miner of nickel ore to a globally sig nificant downstream processor of nickel metal for the class 1 and class 2 nickel markets.

PT. GEOSERVICES

PT. GEOSERVICES is a 100% privately owned local company that has a solid base of expertise covering all aspects of the exploration and development of Indone sia’s oil, gas, coal, mineral, and geothermal industries. Founded in 1971 to offer services to the mining industry, PT Geoservices evolved into a fully integrated exploration ser vices company. Employing more than 1500 people, some of which are expert in specialized fields from a number of foreign countries, the company is offering in mapping surveys, geology, geophysics, downhole measurements, borehole drilling, laboratories analysis, and cargo superin tending for quantity and quality. Today it is a one-stop organization that can fulfill all explo ration and analysis requirements for each of the industrial sectors it serves.

The mineral division services the mining industry by pro vision of exploration analysis, metallurgical testwork, geo technical testwork, advanced mineralogy and provision of onsite laboratory management. The Mineral Division laboratory in Kendari provides explo ration and production analysis to Companies involved in the Nickel Industry with one of its key clients being Nickel Mines group of Companies. PT. Geoservices NiBara Division also has setup laboratories in Kendari and Halmahera with a specific goal to provide superintending and analytical services for nickel shipments and associated products such as coal, limestone and quick lime that are required for nickel smelter operation.

OUR PHILOSOPHY: “Excellent Services With High Professional Integrity “

Nickel Industries now holds an 80% economic interest in eight producing RKEF lines which are located in two of the worlds largest nickel pro duction centres, Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (“IMIP”) and Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (“IWIP”), with a further four lines to commis sion this month at IMIP.

Most recently, in December 2021, the company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 70% interest in the Oracle Nickel Project with a capex, name plate and time frame guarantee (similar to all of its past RKEF acquisitions), which comprises four next-generation RKEF lines with an annual nameplate production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of nickel metal which are due to start commissioning this month. This will increase the company’s total attributable nameplate ca pacity to 78,000 tpa of nickel metal.

Mr Werner, the company Managing Director, says: “Since our IPO in 2018 which raised AUS$ 200 million – the second largest resources IPO at that time – we have grown rapidly from basical ly zero nickel metal production to producing in excess of 130,000 tonnes (100% basis) of nickel starting from the beginning of next year. This will

had already identified the opportunity of adding value in-country and even before the ore ban came into effect, they had started building the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, the world’s largest fully vertically-integrated stainless steel park with capacity for around 3

million tonnes per annum, 45,000 employees and over four gigawatt of power

“

place us amongst the top 10 global nickel producers.”

From miner to producer

The company’s progress and transi tion over a relatively short period of time is impressive. We asked Justin Werner to give us a brief overview of how it all started, and what has been behind the company’s growth.

He says: “Nickel Mines was incorpo

rated in 2007 and a year later the company made its first foray into Indonesia. That was when I got involved in the company. We iden tified a large tonnage high-grade project the Hengjaya Mine (“HM”), and success fully took that from permitting, explora tion, land acquisition and into production.

At the time, with direct shipping of all ore to China, it was a very

profitable business.”

However, in 2014 the Indonesian govern ment banned unpro cessed mineral exports in an effort to encour age the development of an in-country down stream processing industry that would allow Indonesians to benefit more from their country’s vast mineral wealth. The ban clearly had a major impact on the business.

At that time, circum

stances changed in the Indonesian ore mar ket with the entry of Tsingshan, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, who pi oneered the RKEF process to produce low-cost nickel pig iron, and which is now the dominant player in the Indonesian NPI and stainless steel industry.

“Tsingshan had already identified the opportunity of adding value in-country and

even before the ore ban came into ef fect, they had started building the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, the world’s larg est fully vertically-inte grated stainless steel park with capacity for

around 3 to 4 million tonnes per annum, 45,000 employees and over four gigawatt of power,” recalls Mr Werner.

As Tsingshan re quired additional nickel ore as feed

stock, Nickel Industries entered into an offtake agreement with Tsing shan for high-grade saprolite ore, and in 2015 started supply ing them ore from its mine, becoming one of their highest-grade ore

suppliers. This led to the signing of a col laboration agreement to acquire an interest in an initial two RKEF furnaces for nickel pig iron production.

Industrial style business

Justin Werner ex plains that the produc tion of nickel pig iron, which is predominantly used in stainless steel, has grown very rap idly. In addition, the company has recently announced conversion of its Hengjaya RKEF

lines to the production of nickel matte, which is a class 1 nickel prod uct, to be used in the battery sector.

“This will diversify us into both markets, i.e. both the NPI class market and the class 1 market both of which have very different market and pricing dynamics.”

The company has a track record of mov ing fast. In the sum mer, Nickel Industries started commissioning a 380 MW power plant as part of the Angel project within the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park, well ahead of schedule, following the early commissioning of the project’s four RKEF lines between Janu ary and May this year, again well ahead of the contracted delivery.

“The early commis sioning of the Angel RKEF lines more than six months ahead of schedule allowed us to significantly bring forward nickel pro duction. With Angel’s power plant now commissioned, this has allowed us to ramp up to approximately 130% of nameplate capac ity, which will greatly increase nickel metal production and assist in materially reduc ing Angel’s operating costs,” Mr Werner points out.

He acknowledges that the benefits of the partnership with

Tsingshan are mani fold. “All of their RKEF plants and power plants have come with a capex guarantee as well as a nameplate guarantee. Typically they perform 35% above the nameplate guarantee, and the timeframe guarantee. We have seen commis sioning of RKEF lines in as little as 12 months, and ramping up to full nameplate in as little as three months.”

“That’s why we think we’re so at tractive, and hence the change in name from Nickel Mines to Nickel Industries –we generate most of our profit from our RKEF business, which is an industrial style business. We’re not a mining company that requires large amounts of sustain ing capex that has mine life overhang. We have a very stable cost base, we sit right at the very bottom end of the cost curve. And we benefit from a 7 year tax holiday on 4 of our lines and 10 years on our latest 8 RKEF lines. Hence we are a strong mar gin business.”

Environmental stewardship and social responsibility

As one of the largest employers in Indone sia with around 6,000 people in the two Industrial Parks, Nickel Industries is aware of

That’s why we think we’re so attractive, and hence the change in name from Nickel Mines to Nickel Industries

“ “

its social role and the importance of support ing local communities.

“We have invested over a billion US$ in equity and half a billion US$ in debt. We are currently the largest Australian investor in Indonesia, and we are very committed to supporting our local communities, as the vast majority of our employees comes from these communities.”

With its long-term economic development vision, the company seeks to develop pro grammes related to the communities’ needs, to create mutual value beyond the life of its operations. In addition to charitable grants, health and education is one of the priority areas for Nickel Indus tries’ social empower ment, and the company implements various initiatives to enhance the education level in its areas of operation.

Similarly, environmen tal protection remains high on the list of pri orities. The company’s commitment to envi ronmental sustainability has been recognised by the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, which in 2021 awarded the com pany’s Hengjaya Mine a ‘Blue PROPER’ rating to confirm full compli ance with the mine’s operating licence of associated rehabilita tion programmes and commitments.

Within another major initiative to protect the bio diversity of local areas, Nickel Industries has rehabil itated several thousands of hectares of watershed area with commercial timber. More than two million trees have been planted since 2019 with the poten tial for an additional one million trees to be planted.

“In terms of our own operation, we have announced a binding term sheet for 200 megawatts of solar pow er, with a MOU for a further 220 megawatt peak of solar power. We are very much committed to reduc ing our carbon footprint and to increasing our mix of renewable and clean energies,” says Mr Werner.

Going for the top

He affirms that the company is in a good place. After nearly 15 years in Indonesia, Mr Werner feels almost local. “If you’re going to do business in Indonesia, you need to be based here. You need to have an understanding of the culture and the local community. That understanding has been one of the keys to success.”

“We are very happy where we are, and thankful ly are not experiencing some of the issues that the rest of the world is experiencing in supply chains and staff shortages. As Tsingshan provides us with a capex guarantee with all material sourcing, we’ve had no delays due to supply constraints.”

Speaking about the future, he acknowledges that the company is on track with its ambitious plans. “With our 70% interest in the Oracle Nickel Plant now paid for and commissioning on track early again for this month we should be at 130,000 tonne per annum nickel production from early next year, which places us amongst the top 10 global nickel producers.”

“We will very much continue to diversify. Ulti mately I would like to see a third of our production being nickel pig iron, a third being nickel matte, and the third being mixed hydroxide precipitate from HPAL plants. That will make us unique – we would be the only global diversified listed nickel producer that has exposure to all of those three different market segments of the nickel market.”

Developing a Strategic Tin Asset UK

Cornish Metals is on track to progressing its valued asset located in Cornwall, the South Crofty project, one of the world’s highest grade undeveloped tin resources. Company CEO Richard Williams describes the history of the project and its projections.

in the cornish metals

C ornish Metals Exploration’s 100%-owned South Crofty project is located in the central mining district of Cornwall, in south-west England. While tin mining in this region dates back to 2,300 BC, large-scale production at South Crofty only started in the mid-1600s. The mine had been in operation intermittently since then until1998 when mining was discontinued after a prolonged period of depressed tin prices.

SIEMAG TECBERG

SIEMAG TECBERG is pleased to be supporting Cornish Metals on the rehabilitation of the South Crofty mine. Siemag TECBERG is supporting engineering activities associated with the updating of electrical supply systems for hoisting and dewatering activities, as well as providing new hoisting plant and winder automation systems.

Headquartered in Haiger, DE, with subsidiaries located in key territories worldwide, including the UK, the Ameri cas, South Africa, Australasia and Asia, SIEMAG TECBERG Group, is a privately owned and independent solution pro vider for the mining and material handling industries.

With world leading mine hoist products, complemented by expert engineering competencies, SIEMAG TECBERG are ideally placed to provide you with a full service for anything from the design and feasibility study of material handling equipment for new mines, through to the upgrade and op

timisation of existing systems.

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A new era for the asset started in 2016, when Canada-based Cornish Metals en tered into an agree ment with the mine’s previous owners. Together with South Crofty, the company acquired additional mineral rights over a further 15,000 hec tares scattered across various parts of Corn wall, some of which cover old copper, tin and zinc mines, but also cobalt, including the United Downs Project, historically the richest copper-produc ing region in Cornwall in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

“When we first ac

quired South Crofty, the impression from a lot of people was that the project was doomed to fail. That of course was wrong. We always knew we had a good asset,” says Rich ard Williams. “There was the opportunity to put South Crofty back into production, and there was also the opportunity to find new deposits on all the other mineral rights that we acquired.”

Himself an expe rienced mining pro fessional with myriad experience from mines around the globe, Richard Williams is well placed to be CEO of Cornish Metals. Fol

lowing his degree in Geology at Portsmouth University, he worked as a mine geologist in South Africa. After completing his Mas ter’s degree in Mineral Exploration, he was located in a range of African and Latin Amer ica countries, before eventually becoming CEO of Strongbow Exploration, renamed Cornish Metals in 2020.

Well-funded to proceed

Following the ac quisition, the com pany has spent a few years raising funds and finding an inves tor to support the project’s develop ment. This was even

tually achieved in 2022, when Cornish Metals completed a £40 million financing, which included a £25 million investment from Vision Blue Resources, a resource investment fund focused on metals which are essential to the energy transition.

Mr Williams explains that the investment is designed to cover the various stages of the project all the way through to the produc tion decision. These will first include the construction of a water treatment plant and de-watering the South Crofty underground mine workings.

Once completed, the company will commence drilling from the surface to collect samples for various metallurgical, ore sorting, and tail ings studies, followed by underground dia mond drilling to con vert inferred mineral resources to indicat ed mineral resources and to increase the size of the current mineral resource es timate, as part of the feasibility study.

“The feasibility study is set to be de livered by the end of 2024 in order to make a project financing and production deci sion at South Crofty. If all goes well, the timeline from today to production is four years,” he says.

The fact that South Crofty already had planning permission for the new process plant as well plan ning permission for underground mining was a clear advan tage for Cornish Metals, he says.

“Permitting risk in any country of the western world is a big issue today. What was still to be achieved was the environmental per mit that would allow us to dewater the mine to get access to the work ings to start the oper ation again. That was secured in October 2017, meaning that we now have a fully per mitted project.”

He further explains that the underground permission area cov ers 1,490 hectares and includes 26 for mer producing mines. Current infrastruc ture on the property includes four usable vertical shafts and a 300-metre decline. Regional infrastruc ture includes excel lent access to power, roads and rail. The process plant site is adjacent to a railway line and accessible grid power crosses the property.

Strategic asset in Europe

Today, tin is present everywhere in ways that are essential to our quality of life, and is a critical component of high-tech hardware and electrical vehicles, and is also used in ro botics and renewable energies. As the world is shifting towards more domestic sup plies of minerals and strategic supplies of minerals, this opens up new opportunities, Mr Williams says.

“Half of the tin in the world goes into solders, and is used in electronics, an indus try which is booming today. However, 75% of all the tin mined today comes from China, Mayanmar and Indonesia. There is no tin production in North America, and in Spain and Portugal there is only by-prod uct tin from some of

Northern Geological Supplies Ltd

Established in 1985, the company initially only served the educational and geology collectors’ market with samples of rocks, minerals, and fos sils. A change in market trends and new team members evolved the company to diversify and eventually begin supplying the mining sector from 2012 onwards.

Bringing the Past into the Future, represents Northern Geological Supplies Ltd ethos in the mining sector. Catering to a varied client base, small and large on several exploration projects around the world. Particularly in the exploration, sampling, and drilling stages. In which numerous (often hundreds to thousands) of samples or soils, rocks, minerals, or cores are obtained for testing and future planning.

Many of the mineral ores being brought up from the past are intended for the future use of our selves as a society. Often in manufacturing, en ergy production new technologies and more. We aim to supply clients with the tools and equip ment they require to carry out their exploration and drilling projects. Among items often supplied are UCP Core Trays, strong, sturdy, and ready for any drill site. In addition, rock chip trays, sampling bags made from various materials, custom made sample ticket books, hammers, compass clinometers, notebooks and more all fall within our regular product lines.

Northern Geological Supplies Ltd has maintained positive relations with Cornish Metals, particu larly at their South Crofty project, supplying a range of equipment. It is hoped that together, we can continue this into the future and for many other projects around the world.

Permitting risk in any country of the western world is a big issue today

the tungsten mines.”

“As we see the ESG concept start to build mo mentum, there are three things that I think compa nies will look for in the ESG world with regard to responsible mining – the absence of child labour; proceeds not being used to fund conflict; and no

detrimental effect on the environment. The three areas that currently dominate tin production do not meet these requirements. On the contrary, tin mined in Cornwall could potentially be sold at a premium, because it would tick all the ESG boxes.”

With car and electronics manufacturers desiring

We’re trying to source everything locally

stability, many have started to fund mine development so that they can secure their own supply of lithium, cobalt or nickel and other metals they use.

“Government bodies are also becoming more proactive in providing incentives or subsidies to make sure that they have domestic production. And that’s what the UK government needs to start doing to stim ulate and accelerate this whole domestic growth in the mineral sector,” Mr Williams points out.

“Look at semicon ductors and their shortage due to supply chain disrup tions. 85% of all the semiconductors in the world are designed in the US, but 75% of them are manufac tured in Asia. We’ve just learned that the US government has approved $250 billion in spending in the technology sector, and part of that, about 50 billion of that, is to build a domestic semiconductor manu facturing capability in the US. Again, we see a shift to local produc tion and consequently, tin demand is expect

ed to increase.”

Local focus

He reflects that when you look at the downstream aspect, some of the smelter capacity that is now in Asia may poten tially be moved back to Europe or North America, where there currently is none.

“With the increased pressure on reduced carbon footprint, and the resulting efforts to reduce shipping distances, I think that there are some down stream value addition opportunities as well. The focus is on local these days, and we follow this principle as well.”

“We’re trying to source everything locally; all our employ ees are from Cornwall. I think that really adds an almost unquanti fiable dimension to the team’s desire to see this project work. And the support of the project from the local community is clear; in fact, the solid relation ships established with the local community is one of our most im portant achievements accomplished over the previous five years.

He recalls that be

cause of the pandemic restrictions, the compa ny could not organise a big meeting for all but literally had to knock on everybody’s door and have a chat with every individual. “It was time consuming but the upside was that people got to know us. At the end of the day, we did not have any complaints from anybody. That is extremely important, because if you don’t have that support from the local community, it doesn’t matter what you’ve got, it would be really hard to get a project going.”

Cornwall’s potential

In terms of human resources, Cornwall boasts a unique as set – the Camborne School of Mines, which happens to be located in the vicinity of the South Crofty mine. “There’s a lot of global expertise that has come out of the Camborne School of Mines. A lot of those people are working around the world as senior mining engineers running mining companies, and as process engineers and mine geologists. They may work over

seas but still actually live in Cornwall, so for many of them, working in Cornwall is pretty attractive.”

He affirms that Cor nish Metals will also benefit the region by bringing in high ly-skilled, well-paid employment oppor tunities. “I think by training up the next generation of explo ration geologists, mine geologists, min ing engineers, you may create the next entrepreneur who may find the next deposit nearby.”

“Our objective is to bring tin and copper mining back to Corn wall, to create wellpaid, highly skilled jobs hand-in-hand with the community. Being part of that commu nity, part of develop ing a project that will benefit the community, gives people pride,” Mr William affirms.

“And I honestly think, Cornwall itself is a worldclass tin district. Even though it’s got a long his tory of mining, it is really underexplored. I believe there is still a lot to find in Cornwall and I’m excited that Cornish Metals is participating in rediscov ering Cornwall’s mining potential,” he concludes.

South Africa

Powering

Whether we like it or not, in this day and age, the role of gas as an important resource is unquestionable. In South Africa, a country historically heavily dependent on coal, gas is the preferred, and the only feasible, alternative within the energy transition, affirmed Nick de Blocq, Managing Director of Kinetiko Energy, a company that is launching a project set to change the landscape for the SA energy market.

Kinetiko Energy is an Australian gas explorer focused on advanced shallow conventional gas and coal bed methane opportunities in rapidly developing markets in Southern Africa, a region with extensive gassy coal basins, widespread energy infrastructure and growing gas demand.

Infin Drilling

Infin Drilling is a hands-on driven company, focused on quality, high ethics, integrity, honesty, delivery and backup. Specializing in CBM and the Gas Industry, Infin Drilling can operate across areas all over Africa, therefore meeting clients’ needs for their drilling requirements.

Entering the Coal Bed Methane sector in 2012 con tracting to Kinetiko Energy enabled Infin Drilling to participate in drilling Production Perm test wells and NQ3 core exploration holes. Scope of work included drilling through very difficult broken/running dolerite forma tions where we gained valuable experience and knowledge including procedures, health, environmental and safety standards, which is our main ethos when working with any organization.

With our long-standing experience, we have been able to design and manufacture our own drilling rigs and

associated supporting equipment to suit project/client demands. Our range of industry-leading equipment and services includes a 50-ton pull-back multi-purpose CBM drill rig which is capable of Coring, DTH and Tri Cone. Our Core rigs have an onboard 3000lt water tank and drill rod storage and drilling technique which doesn’t require digging mud sumps but uses aboveground sumps limiting environmental damage in wet lands and rocky areas.

We also provide the following product services, TwoStage Booster – single stage 3600 SCFM – two stage 2700 SCFM, Compressors which are – 1100 SCFM – 25 Bar and 7” BOP & Washington Rotating Head.

Rupert and Andre successfully completed the Boots & Coots IADC Well Control Supervisory Level Accredi tation Program in Houston Texas – in April 2013.

In terms of size, we have granted exploration rights for over 6,000 square kilometres

The company is currently progressing its flagship Amersfoort Gas Project, located at the heart of South Africa’s energy, mining and transport infrastructure and close to the major population centres of Johannesburg and Tshwane (Pretoria).

One of a kind Exploration programmes already conducted have proven the existence of large accumulations of on-shore, shallow gas with strong flow rates, demonstrating the potential to develop into significant gas production fields. Gas has been identified in every exploration hole drilled to date.

These efforts are being led by South-Africa born Nick de Blocq, an industry professional with over 34 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, who has held various senior roles for prime companies including Schlumberger. Having worked in about 60 countries, his knowledge of the entire drilling industry and its support mechanisms, both off- and onshore, is extensive and his knowledge of how to get new wells into production is his speciality.

He explains that the Amersfoort Gas Project is special due to its geographical size as well as

To become the leading landbased gas exploration company in Africa. We offer the best hands on management, highest standard of work and no compromise with Health &Safety. We wish Kinetiko and their team, further success in their African operational developments.

Infin Drilling (Pty) Ltd 14 Loftus Road Murrayfield Park

3201

www.infin.co.za

Infin Drilling’s goal is

Gas Exploration Services

In Q4 last year, we drilled three development wells, which are called the Korhaan cluster, to add to two existing wells creating a fivespot cluster. This will support a small gas-topower plant in the field on the site

its geology, which makes gas production achievable in the short term. “The geology is unique in terms of its compartmentalization. Every single one of the boreholes that we’ve drilled so far, has cut gas. Not many companies can say that they have a 100% strike rate. This is quite a differentiator.”

“In terms of size, we have granted exploration rights for over 6,000 square kilometres, which provides massive potential exploration upside and value proposition,” he affirms, adding that the average depth of all holes drilled ranges from 430 to 650 meters, which is another advantage, as there is no need for hydraulic fracturing. The shallow depths for drilling of exploration and production wells is a main driver for keeping costs low and thus strengthening the project economics.

Four pillars

Although the company ventured into South Africa some 12 years ago, redrilling only started last year. Mr de Blocq explains that the efforts are currently centred around proving the productivity of the multiple fields within the company’s rights areas.

“In Q4 last year, we drilled three development wells, which are called the Korhaan cluster, to add to two existing wells creating a five-spot cluster. This will support a small gas-topower plant in the field on the site.”

Ultimately, the company is

looking towards multiple infield production plants feeding multiple needs and multiple mid- and downstream offtakers, from within the various projects within the field. Four major pillars have been defined, says Mr de Blocq.

The first one is obvious – gas sales into the existing coalpowered generation plants for flame control and ultimately for full co-generation. The Majuba Power Station, a 4,110MW coal-fired facility, is located within sight of the Amersfoort Project, and there are 10 additional power stations within 300 km, all of which utilise the existing high-voltage power infrastructure.

The other three pillars are gas supply into the existing gas transmission (Transnet’s Lilly pipeline) with distribution networks in KwaZulu-Natal; LNG production which will give the company the ability to transport gas to other remote thermal industries,; and – last but not least – production of chemical derivatives, such as urea and ammonia, two commodities that are currently mostly imported and the price of which has been skyrocketing. Creating domestic production would be a welcome benefit for SA’s economy.

The only alternative

“For South Africa, being historically heavily dependent

on coal, gas is the best solution for the country at the moment,” says Mr de Blocq. “Renewables are great, but there is a challenge in terms of the output. At very best, our installed capacity in South Africa has only been able to produce about 20% of what it’s built to do. We just have to accept that when moving away from coal, gas is currently the only alternative.”

He reflects that the oil & gas sector needs to be more communicative to highlight the importance of this resource, now and in the future. “We need to be more educational perhaps, addressing this unfortunate ignorance

surrounding oil and gas, which is often preyed on by the commercial interests of the so-called exclusive e-sector.”

“People need to understand that without oil and gas, there won’t be any wind turbines or solar panels; both are petroleum products. Gas is something that will be with us forever. We just need to be more clever about how we use it.”

The need for gas production is even more evident as the growing demand for energy in South Africa is facing shortages. This puts the Amersfoort gas-

to-power Project in Mpumalanga in a clear light. Nick de Blocq says: “We need to up our exploration game considerably to satisfy a burgeoning production need. The gas could be used yesterday.”

Going ahead

He affirms that given the recent financial injection by the latest investor, the company is now ready to become far more active. “We are having to advance efforts in exploratory terms, as we find the most expedient places and sweet spots to set up smaller infield production facilities here and there.”

“We are planning to spend at least as much in the next two years as we have in the last decade. So that represents a major uptick in that we’re right at the cusp of a stepping stone in business activity. We’re also planning to extend our geographical acreage by another 2,300 km2 by adding another large exploration block to our portfolio.”

It is an exciting development for the Amersfoort Gas Project and Mr de Blocq, who was appointed to his role last year, just as work started to gain

momentum, does not hide his enthusiasm about the future:

“I don’t recall being quite as passionate and quite as excited about any of the projects I’ve worked on in the last 34 years. What I love about what I do is the green ticket on which we approach this, we are part of the decarbonising process.”

“Being in a starting block of something that represents a major solution to the energy crisis in South Africa is such a great place to be. As an environmentalist at heart myself, I’m very proud to be leading this effort.”

People need to understand that without oil and gas, there won’t be any wind turbines or solar panels; both are petroleum products. Gas is something that will be with us forever. We just need to be more clever about how we use it.

Expertise

For Local Development

Global DUQM Refinery in Oman, a new greenfield refinery for the production of clean fuels, is nearing completion. An achievement made under the management of experienced professionals like Mr Hooman Sahabi, Project Director DUQM Refinery Project from Tecnicas Reunidas, the Spanish-based EPC contractor.

Duqm Refinery, also known as OQ8, is a 50:50 joint venture between Oman’s OQ and Ku wait Petroleum International, the largest joint venture project between two Gulf countries in the field of refineries and petrochemicals.

The project enjoys a strategic location on the global trade route on the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and is set to play an impor tant role in boosting the region’s economic development.

The refinery, which includes more that 30 main processing units, is expected to produce more than 20 petrole um and petrochemical products including clean fuels to Euro V and Euro VI standards.

This turnkey contract has been designed un der international codes and best engineering practices to ensure that HSE protocols are strictly followed, in or

der to protect the local environment, and the health and welfare of the community at large.

Under expert management

Packages have been assigned to major EPC contractors, and the refinery works (EPC1) were assigned to a Tecnicas Reunidas and Daewoo joint venture.

Under the agree ment, Tecnicas Reuni das has been responsi ble for the engineering, supply, construction and commissioning of the main refining units. The manage ment of these activities has been given to Mr Sahabi, an experienced

international manager with a proven track re cord with large energy and oil and gas projects all over the world.

Mr Sahabi, a certified Project Management Professional, joined Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) in 2006 following a high-achieving career in the oil and gas and en ergy sectors in project and engineering mana gerial posts.

In TR, he led teams under various EPC projects in a range of countries, before being appointed the Project Director of the DUQM Refinery Project. Speak ing about his own career progression, he affirms that a good

team, good guidance and good cooperation are key.

“Throughout my career I have had the privilege of having very high-level mentors and supervisors, as well as excellent and profes sional teams, working as both a team member and team manager, and I believe that those are the two main factors that have put me where I am today.”

He affirms that team work is of key impor tant for the success of any project, and he, as the Project Director, strives to continuously promote efficient working relationships between

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his people. “I am always there to help my team, and can also draw on the support of my Madrid-based manager, i.e. the company CEO, to discuss any challenge if required.”

“I tend to involve my team in my daily tasks to secure commitment and own ership. I attach very high importance to my people, and, while I always have my company’s long-term objectives in view, an important part of my job is to make sure that my people are happy in their everyday life in this remote area where the project is being implemented, and that short-term targets are met.”

Solid values

He explains that there are several rea sons for Tecnicas Reunidas’ strong mar ket position and global reputation, based on corporate values that are cascaded down from the group’s top management.

“The first thing is a strict respect for contractual requirements, and being very transparent in our dealings with clients, so that any potential misunder standings are avoided.”

“We promote ‘Value Engineering’. Sometimes, a contract includes requirements that add no ex tra value to the Capex and Opex or to the plant life, operability and maintainability, and we point this out, giving technical justifications. This cre ates win-win situations – minimising Capex for the client, and minimising cost and time for us – lead ing to long-term relationships based on trust.”

A focus on quality and safety is another strength of TR, an aspect that contributed to the company winning the project, which had been designed under international codes and best engineering practices. “Quality and safety are not just re quirements for us, they constitute our values, our obligations,” says Mr Sahabi.

And last but not least, TR stands out for its technological and environmental leadership. Mr Sahabi points out that the Duqm Refinery has been designed to employ the best available tech nology in terms of environmental impact, meeting the highest available standards.

In its projects, TR identifies the applicability of footprint reduction technologies and target paths for oil and gas infrastructure decarbon isation, and the Duqm Refinery is no excep tion. “From the environmental perspective, the technology applied in the Duqm Refinery represents the best available technology in the oil and gas industry.

Local development

The project strategy has been based on sustain able development aimed at generating long-term value for communities and society, creating employ ment opportunities and establishing good relation ships with local stakeholders.

Mr Sahabi affirms that TR exceeds the project’s quotas prescribed for both local employment and the local supply chain. “In general, we have around $350 million of local supplies and services, which is significant. Major parts of the contract, such as hydrotreating and hydrogen generation,

interconnecting and building construction have been contracted to Omani companies, pre-quali fied by us.”

“A lot of equipment has also been purchased in Oman, including the pressure vessels and heat exchangers, most of the cables as well as under ground plastic piping, under subcontract awards. We only engage international suppliers if local supply is not available.”

The project is set to play a major role in the devel

opment of the country and its people, whose skills will be the basis of Oman’s future managerial class.

The human resources-related guiding pillars of the project’s social responsibility strategy, i.e. the empowerment of women, capacity-building among young people, and training and educa tion, are reflected in TR’s approach to the local workforce, fully respecting the local mentality and culture, while promoting diversity – national, cultural as well as gender.

“Today, Omanis make up around 10% of our workforce. They are employed in various dis ciplines from general services through to hu man resources and quality control, and their skills are being continuously developed so that knowledge is retained in-country. We are par ticipating in this important project not only for our own benefit but also to help develop the local economy, to the benefit of local people,” affirms Mr Sahabi, in conclusion.

UNITEL S.A.

The Angolan government is in the process of diversifying the country’s traditionally hydrocarbon-reliant economy, as it seeks to power a much-needed economic revival. In-line with this objective, considerable investment is being poured into upgrading Angola’s national infrastructure, particularly telecommunications, and Unitel, being both the country’s largest telcom operator and a technology leader in its field, is central to this strategy going forward.

The Angolan government is in the process of diversifying the country’s traditionally hydrocarbon-reliant economy, as it seeks to power a much-needed economic revival. Inline with this objective, considerable investment is being poured into upgrading Angola’s national infrastructure, particularly telecommunications, and Unitel, being both the country’s largest telcom operator and a technology leader in its field, is central to this strategy going forward.

Unitel is a multi-spectrum business with operations spanning a number of areas, which includes technology R&D and the deployment of undersea cables, but undoubtedly it is its status as Angola’s industry-leading provider of mobile voice and broadband services for which the company is best-known. With more than 11 million loyal subscribers across the country – in excess of one third of the Angolan population – Unitel’s mobile penetration is unrivalled, and this is in no small part due to the company’s root-and-branch commitment to delivering service excellence to its customers.

Since it first entered the telcom market in 2001, Unitel has consistently offered quality, affordable mobile products and subscription packages to its customers, as it has continually expanded network coverage and capability – something it has achieved through the deployment of market-first technologies such as 3G, 4G GPRS, EDGE, UMTS GSM and LTE. It goes without saying that delivering a great customer experience has been a key driver of Unitel’s success over the years, but, as any capable executive leader knows full-well, a company is only as capable as its supply chain function.

Edson Marcos, Unitel’s Senior Technical Procurement Manager, oversees a core area of Unitel’s supply chain business that is responsible for the acquisition of cutting-edge technologies, network infrastructure equipment, and the hardware needed to ensure the smooth functioning of Unitel’s network system –activities that make up 80% of Unitel’s overall spend. Suffice to say, Edson and his young, dynamic team of supply chain professionals play an indispensable role in the company’s success.

“It is all about strategy, more specifically looking at all core business strategy, which is focused on developing new technologies and bringing new technologies onboard so that we can become more agile, reduce costs, and source new streams of revenue for the company,” explained Edson, when asked what a day in his role entails. He continued:

“My team is responsible for managing the most strategic of the contracts for the company. I’m talking about the network contracts, CRM and ERP and operational and Support systems contracts,and some other corporate and finance systems that keep the business of moving all the reporting, all the strategy for people development procedures within the procurement department. I use everything to keep bringing the new best practise into Unitel in terms of procurement, and I can say that today we have fantastic procurement going on at Unitel and we don’t owe anything to anybody.”

Cultivating a vision and being committed to coaching people - this will definitely motivate people to do their best work and to pursue projects and goals, enabling them to grow.

“ “

Edson is a supply chain veteran of over 15-years who, after cutting his industry teeth at Baker Hughes, BP, Statoil and Cobalt at the height of Angola’s oil boom, joined Unitel in 2016. With such a formidable CV and a wealth of supply chain experience to call upon, Edson is committed to helping Unitel create a world-class supply chain division with the resources, training and leadership needed to nurture and inspire a new generation of supply chain professionals. Indeed, it is the need to create an inspiring and collaborative working culture for his team that makes Edson passionate about his work:

“Cultivating a vision and being committed to coaching people - this will definitely motivate

people to do their best work and to pursue projects and goals, enabling them to grow. For me, this is the key to effective leadership. Your team sees you as a role model - that’s definitely what happened to me. And they still answer the other side of the part of the equation.

By creating a positive working environment, my team are motivated to stay busy. Success doesn’t come for free. This is my working style, getting my staff dedicated and focused, because this is the only way we can grow. This is the only way we can make things happen. It doesn’t matter if we get things wrong, we keep digging and never give up. This way we can achieve our goals.”

Upon first joining Unitel, it was necessary for Edson to set about modernising a supply chain function that was price driven and tactically reactionary. Over the years since, Edson and his team have set about creating a highly efficient and mature operation, built around the latest best practice and designed to achieve cost reductions without compromising on quality. This, combined with ongoing investment into new technologies, has led to the creation of a robust, proactive division that is capable of helping the company realise its plans to expand and level-up over the years to come:

“We have implemented procurement strategy that prioritises best practise, and which is driven by value and relationship rather than price. Before, the company had a strategy not to centralise procurement but, because of the results that we’re delivering now, our procurement function is measurable better on the technical side. We’re very proud of what we have done. Where once Unitel’s supply chain was a wholly price driven operation focused only on pricing and negotiating the lowest bottom line, no longer.

Today, Edson presides over a division that looks more broadly at how good value can be achieved and the total cost of acquisition, and is committed to building strong, enduring relationships with partners and suppliers – an outcome he achieved through the implementation of the project matrix model. In such a challenging economic climate where continual price increases come as standard, this is no easy task.

“Reducing costs without compromising quality, this is really very challenging, especially in Angola because of our economic situation. We always utilise best practise to support our strategies and I’ve found best practise is about nurturing relationships. Good relationships help us to reduce costs, allow us to be open with how our suppliers, allow us to choose to share our strategy and our forecast operations in advance with our suppliers, allow us to sit across a table in a meeting with our suppliers to build strategy together. Its all about working together.

After what has been a difficult year for Unitel, Angola and the wider world, Edson and his staff have managed to achieve the near-

impossible and maintain the high standards of Unitel’s supply chain division in spite of the challenges posed by rising inflation and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about what the future holds as far as the rest of 2022 is concerned, Edson believes another challenging year lies ahead. Not that he and his team are not equal to it. He concluded:

Cultivating a vision and being committed to coaching people - this will definitely motivate people to do their best work and to pursue projects and goals, enabling them to grow.

“ “

“We invested in IT systems like SAP and SAP for finance, for logistic and for procurement, which was definitely a big investment in systems which will help procurement to become more effective. This increased performance will help us a lot going forward. We have also invested a lot into measures to make our procurement work more sustainable.

This ongoing challenge regarding cost reduction, where inflation is higher and it is very difficult to source for products. It will be the same this year. We will keep knocking on the door and keep implementing good strategy so we can maintain our high performance and keep costs under control.”