African Business 2020 edition

FOCUS
Overseer, Mining Engineer, Superintendent, Project
Manager in numerous mines including various
operations of Anglo Platinum, Murray & Roberts
and Palabora Copper. He joined Palabora Copper
as a Superintendent for Underground Mining and
ascended to the position of a Project Manager for Lift
II project, until he moved to his current position of
a Project Manager for Lift II Shaft Sinking Project in
January 2019.
Thabo has fulfilled the expectation of the most
effective miner of beneficial engagement, when he
became the Chairperson and EXCO member of the
Limpopo Region’s Mine Health and Safety Tripartite
Forum in 2019, a position he will hold until the next
election. Thabo’s obligation in the same Forum
started in 2015 as the Deputy Chairperson, a position
he held until 2018. Thabo is also a member of South
African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM)
and Associate member of Association of Mine
Managers South Africa (AMMSA).
PMC Vermiculite Business – a story of sustainability, resilience and agility
Senior Manager for Vermiculite and
EXCO member, John Makgatho.
Palabora Copper (PC) is known
for its copper, but the mine has
also been mining vermiculite
in a separate open pit since
the early 1900s. The Vermiculite
deposit is located within the Palabora Igneous Complex adjacent
to the Kruger National Park, and one of the largest phosphate
rock producers, the Foskor Mine. The crude vermiculite mineral
is a magnesium, aluminium and iron silicate in a flaky form with a
yellowish-to-brown colour. Vermiculite has a remarkable ability to
expand significantly when heated at high temperatures (above 850
degrees Celsius). Vermiculite is clean, non-toxic, non-combustible and
insoluble in water or organic solvents and is an excellent insulator
for thermal and auditory applications. It is used in the horticulture,
agriculture, fertiliser, manufacturing and construction industries as a
friction lining. PMC continues to be one of the largest producers of
vermiculite in the world.
PMC sells its vermiculite concentrate to local and international
markets. Local markets access the products directly from the mine
and international buyers from PMC subsidiaries located in Singapore,
the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In 2011, the
PMC Verimiculite Business was reconfigured to align the production
with market needs and stabilise the supply to various global markets.
Post 2011, the current Senior Manager for Vermiculite and PMC EXCO
member, John Makgatho, headed the turnaround strategy to ensure
that the Vermiculite Business continues to be sustainable, resilient and
agile amid market challenges and changes.
“Crucial to the success of PMC Vermiculite Business are our
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