MEDIA RELEASE

Looking forward to Botswana’s great coal future

21 February 2014, Johannesburg: With over 100 staff in Botswana and almost 15 years of history there, leading mining explosives company BME is looking forward to supporting the burgeoning coal sector to be showcased at the annual Coal Botswana conference in the capital Gaborone from 25-27 March 2014.

“The outlook for Botswana’s coal is among the most exciting stories in Africa today,” said BME international business manager Donald Motloung. “With an approximate resource base of 7 billion tonnes of coal, there is potential to mine as much as 90 million tonnes for export.”

Motloung said BME had taken a strategic decision to invest in its Botswana operation at a time when the industry was small and its outlook was not clear to the untrained eye.

“Our approach to the Botswana operations is in line with our approach to the rest of Africa. We see huge potential on the continent and as African explosives suppliers, great opportunity too,” he said. “Over this time, BME has become an integral part of this industry, and Botswana now leads Africa in the annual Fraser Institute Mining Survey.”

BME’s participation at the Coal Botswana conference reflects the company’s role in the country’s mining sector – particularly its reputation for customer service and resilience in the face of challenges.

“We exhibit first and foremost to showcase our people – who are the core of our business,” said Motloung. “BME people at the exhibition give visitors a taste of the service orientation and can-do attitude of our employees. These people are the cornerstone of BME’s offerings because – no matter how great the technology – you need people to work it.

“We will also introduce visitors to the various technologically advanced BME products and equipment, as well as services and blasting solutions.”

Listening to customers – their plans, needs and challenges – is also a vital benefit of events like Botswana Coal, helping the company to provide products and services that are relevant and informed by customers’ needs and situations.

BME’s customer base in Botswana varies from large corporate mining firms and major international mining contractors to quarries and smaller contracting companies, in minerals including diamonds, copper, gold, nickel and stone.

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SIDE-BAR: Donald Motloung

“First be best; then you will be first,” is the motto of BME international business manager Donald Motloung. With a remit including Botswana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar, Motloung served as country manager in Senegal after working for BME as a blasting engineer in West Africa. A mining graduate from the University of Johannesburg, he started his career in the platinum mines of South Africa before joining the explosives industry. His favourite pastime is viewing game and reading, and he believes firmly in the inherent potential of all mankind. He is married to Tsholofelo and they have a son, Tebello.

Note to the editor: BME is the leading supplier of explosives and services to the African mining, quarrying and construction industries. Focusing on safety, supply security and value adding technical services, BME strives to remain at the forefront of technology by regularly participating in the research and trials of new blasting techniques and products, as well as attending and presenting at technical conferences worldwide. BME has operations in Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, DRC, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and where opportunities present themselves.

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