Kuyasa is a thriving example of black entrepreneurs entering the white-dominated mining industry, writes Sechaba kaNkosi
Ayanda Bam, the executive chair of Kuyasa Mining Company, does not mince his words about his aim in business to make as much money as possible. But beyond that, Bam sees his role as creating more black entrepreneurs rather than creating jobs for black people.
Black people have to grow out of the thinking that they can only make a living by working for other people. They have to understand that they have the means themselves. We need to create an environment that will be conducive to blacks joining the industry as owners and not employees, says Bam.
It is perhaps this conviction that saw Bam, together with two fellow directors Joseph Ndaba in charge of finances and Thabo Sibeko, operations director plotting their entry into the mining industry from a small Mpumalanga town of Delmas. In 1995 the three had started consulting numerous mining houses, government departments and financial institutions. The mission was to acquire rights to buy smaller coal deposits, mine and process them and then sell the ultimate product to customers.
In November, a deal was eventually sealed with Ingwe Collieries transferring mineral rights to Kuyasa at no pre-paid price. Basil Read was contracted to mine and deliver the coal produced to Ingwes Delmas Colliery, which had agreed to buy the coal produced. And in April, the dream came true when Bam and his colleagues moved in with machines to start a production plant at Ikhwezi Colliery in Delmas.
We are a strange company that started with no money, no deposits and nothing except our expertise and experience, but today we are worth well over R10-million and we are hitting higher production levels sooner than we thought. We are here to stay and only a major disaster will take us out of business, notes Bam.
Coal mining is not new territory for Kuyasa and its directors. They all held senior positions at Ingwe mines prior to establishing their company. Even executive assistant Wendy Gobey comes from the same background. The only exception is Chris Shawe, who doubles up as messenger and clerk. At the moment the companys Ikhwezi site consists of two deposits of bituminous coal with total reserves of 10-million tons. The coal will be mined at a rate of one-million tons a year so that the lifespan can be a guaranteed for 10 years. The colliery is a pilot project, which Bam says has to be consolidated while they explore other ventures.
Bam says he has the best staff complement to oversee this and other potential projects. He says their duty is to manage, interact with clients and ensure that the quality of the product meets the required standards.
I really dont understand why I have to employ a full-time mining engineer when he will just do two days worth of work for the whole month, says Bam. If we need their expertise we hire them for as long as they are needed. In that way we become more focused and save as much as we possibly can.
While Bam identifies and evaluates potential projects, operations director Sibeko is responsible for health and safety, sets operational systems in place and most importantly, ensures that they do not cause hazards to the environment.
Sibeko is based at Ikhwezi to ensure that all requirements are met. He argues that with the extraction of about 75 000t of coal a month, significant environmental dangers have to be addressed.
The rivers that surround our mine are not only for Kuyasa. Local communities and animals also depend on them to survive. So whatever we do has to be informed by those realities. I wouldnt say the environment is 100% safe with us, but we always try our best, says Sibeko.
Teamwork will see Kuyasa developing into a mining giant. Already, the company has joined the Chamber of Mines. Bam says they are not there just to be mere members but to introduce new ideas as well.
There are a lot of things the chamber does not understand about black peoples interests in the industry. Issues such as what mineral rights mean to us. We hope our contribution will create new understanding between established miners and up-and- coming black entrants.
Bam attributes his success to his father. He says he always had faith in him. He sent me to study computer science in Lesotho when South African students who studied there were suspected of ties with the liberation movement. He told me I would survive and, indeed, I came back a better person.
We are a strange company that started with nothing except our expertise and experience, but today we are worth well over R10-million (blurb for above story)