Headquartered in Johannesburg, with a combined experience of over 200 years in the Wits Basin, White Rivers Exploration is one of the industry leading companies when it comes to exploration and development of quality South African mines.
Last year, global professional services company, Deloitte, stated that mining on the African continent was a difficult industry to be involved in. “The outlook for growth looks very gloomy indeed,” said Deloitte’s State of Mining in Africa report. “Mineral exploration investment is down approximately 50%, compared to 2012,” the report said. However, the report also suggested that some areas were experiencing continued success in the sector, namely the DRC where four of the top ten major mining projects are located.
But what about South Africa; a country with one of the oldest mining industries on the continent and where mining has been the driving force behind what is now Africa’s most advanced and richest economy, after Nigeria?
Executive Director of White Rivers Exploration, Refilwe Monageng tells Enterprise Africa that although the slowing economy is a cause for concern, his company still has an extremely positive outlook and is planning to continue developing world class African mines in South Africa.
“The slow economy does affect us but there’s pros and cons. Firstly, it affects us because we had to reduce some of our geological work as we had to put money into low capex and quick return projects. Secondly, the slow performance in the mining sector and the economy affects investor confidence and this means that people tend to pull back. Most importantly foreign exchange works in our favour at the moment looking at the weaker rand compared with the U.S. dollar. One of our aspirations is to find ourselves listed on the JSE one day so investor confidence affects our investor plan in terms of where we need to be by when,” he says.
“Our mission is to discover world class African mines and we mean it when we say that. There are a lot of assets in South Africa that are perfect examples of assets that should be acquired. Take White Rivers for example; we have discovered deposits in abutting the Harmony mine and these are world class – that’s why we formed a JV. There are certainly bankable resources and they result in new mines and jobs created which is good for the country.
“A lot of it is also in how you look for deposits. There’s something called creative difference meaning that everyone looks at the same picture but everyone does not find the same result. What we do, and what makes us exclusive, is use institutional memory. We employ people who have worked in the Wits Basin in order ensure we find the greatest deposits and we critique and evaluate extensively from a geological and engineering perspective. Our experience shows that we know how to find world class mineral resources.”
HISTORIC SUCCESS
White Rivers Exploration is a trusted exploration partner with a track record of success. The company has a substantial tenement holding, the largest land holding in the Witwatersrand Basin, and develops projects from exploration, through concept, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies to the mining execution phase.
“The company was started by one of the most successful prospectors in Australia, Mark Creasy, and he introduced a model that he used in Australia to apply for tenements that would not take long to get into production. A lot of the time, investors only put money into projects where they can see their returns sooner rather than later and mining always takes longer than one can anticipate,” explains Monageng.
“In 1995, Creasy discovered one of the most successful mines which allowed him to list in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Bronzewing mine was one where people said it could not work and that similar to what’s happening with White Rivers. A lot of people have said that gold is dissipating and that we would never find anything but our vision, which we believe we are achieving, is to discover world class African mines and we are continuing to do this. How do we do it? Through a historic borehole database. A lot of holes have been drilled by previous companies, such as Anglovaal, AngloGold etc, so with that in mind Mark Creasy established a database in order to ensure that we apply for tenements that he thinks are near to surface or are able to bring required returns,” he says.
Working closely with the Department of Mineral Resources, White Rives has created lasting relationships and has adapted itself to meet the needs of ever-changing regulatory requirements. “Since 2007 until now we’ve run a strong business,” says Monageng.
One of the company’s most successful undertakings to date is work in the Free State on a gold and uranium project that earned national praise.
“One of our flagship projects is the Beisa project with Harmony Gold. When we started doing research and gaining prospecting rights in that area, we realised that it was one of Harmony’s best mines and it was one of our good grounds, meaning that we could share the infrastructure with Harmony and that’s why we created a joint venture. It shows to any potential future partners of White Rivers that they could realise returns sooner rather than later because we don’t have to spend a lot of CAPEX with regards to putting in a shaft. On this project, we are hoping to declare a resource soon and it will be made public as soon as we have confirmation thereof,” explains Monageng.
DIVERSIFIED PROJECTS
Since White Rivers holds a dynamic and flexible, multi-commodity tenement portfolio, the company is always on the lookout for new opportunities and projects with potential.
Currently, White Rivers is working on projects with various minerals, across different regions, and there are some extremely exciting prospects.
“We have a basket of different tenements. I would say we are a multi commodity company; for example, we work with gold, silver, uranium, coal, gas etc so it makes us a very diversified company.
“Speaking about the Free State coal project, it’s lower grade coal so it could potentially be used for the Lethabo Power Station and we’re still in exploratory options regarding people we could JV with. Of course, we could mine it ourselves and find a buyer who is building a power station for lower grade coal,” says Monageng.
“The coal in KZN is exciting because it’s higher grade coal and is close to the port and Richards Bay Coal Terminal. If it is declared commercially viable, we could potentially export it to other interested countries such as Egypt, Russia, India or China but you have to look at the economics and the timing to ensure it’s commercially viable.
“We also have an exciting gas project, a JV with Tetra 4 previously Molopo Gas, where will be exploring for gas in the Free State.
“In Gauteng, we have a tenement that looks promising in the diamond industry. There was recently an international diamond conference in Dubai so we would certainly not rule out considering those type of commodities,” the Executive Director adds.
FUTURE GROWTH
White Rivers has been specific in its goal: To develop the next generation of world-class South African mines within the next ten years. With that comes the development of not only the business but also people, technology and expertise. The company is now actively looking to build relationships with new partners in the mining sector; relationships where all parties can benefit.
“What’s unique about this industry is that White Rivers is presenting an opportunity to the whole sector and saying ‘let’s talk’. We can be neighbours and talk about how we can be of value to each other and how can we benefit the market,” Monageng says.
Going forward, as the company grows, White Rivers will look to take on more people who have the relevant experience to move the business forward. “Geologists, engineers, environmentalists,” details Monageng. “We have to look after our environment – that is now hugely important. Metallurgists are also important. It’s very important to understand the minerals you are taking from the ground and how is it processed. As we grow and as the economy changes and bounces back, we will also look at Accountants, Economists and Lawyers. It’s an interesting industry and drives the local and international economies.”
At the end of 2015, the Chief Executive of the Chamber of Mines, Roger Baxter released a report responding to the growing concern over the health of the mining industry. The report stated that ‘mining helps give us a cleaner future, it gives us energy for development, metals and minerals which are the building blocks for smart technologies, cosmetics and make-up are made from minerals, the world’s famous buildings would not have been possible without mining, even a wind turbine uses a significant amount of metals and minerals, and more than half of NDP priorities can be tackled by mining,’ and White Rivers is keen to help drive the ongoing development of the industry.
“We are in the business of discovering world class gold assets, creating jobs and making money,” says Monageng. “We want to discover good ore-body, we want to upskill people, address issues of Health and Safety and make money. We are also very concerned about Health, Safety and technology. Mechanisation is becoming popular in underground mining around the world so we will need to train people to maintain the technologies. People can be averse to technology because they think it will take away their jobs but technology can be an opportunity to learn new skills and advance yourself. We are trying to bring a new mind-set through communication. When people are properly informed, they become part of the changes that have to be made,” he concludes.