FOCUS Overseer, Mining
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 AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020 42
subsidiaries, PMC Vermiculite team and the broad PMC team as well as the leadership of PMC. Our vermiculite mine has been in existence for more than 65 years and continues to be amongst the largest producers of vermiculite in the world. We intend to capitalise on this experience of more than 65 years to continue operating into the future,” says John. The SAMI SHE Awards, formerly known as MineSAFE, have recognised the PMC Vermiculite Mine as “Best-in- Class” in the quarry business in South Africa for two consecutive years since 2018. The 2019 award included an input on “the most improved safety performance” and the Vermiculite Business scooped the award on 25 October 2019 at Emperors Palace in Gauteng for the period 2018/19. The vermiculite team collaborates with the PMC Asset Management Division to coordinate the PMC Energy Management Programme. Because of energy-saving programmes by the Vermiculite Business, Productivity South Africa nominated PMC as a finalist for its Energy Saving Management Programme and termed it one of the best sustainable projects in the mining industry in South Africa. 43 AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020
