LOCATION
CLIENT
Ekato
SECTOR
Mining
PROJECT VALUE
£5M+
SOLUTIONS
Manufacturer’s Representative
The Beginning: Breaking Ground
The market for agitators in the mining sector was dominated by manufacturers from South Africa with not a single Ekato unit in operation in the mining sector. Through frequent and sustained contact at all levels with major global mining operations in Ghana, Ekato was introduced into the Ghana market.
A Milestone Achievement
In 2013 Ekato received its first order from Bogosu Gold Limited, owned by Golden Star Resources, and subsequently supplied 5 more units for the operation there on account of the increased reliability and performance of Ekato technology as compared with other, previously supplied units. Holdtrade’s regular presence on site and support with monitoring through its staff assured the customer of full product support.
Expansion and Excellence: Winning Over New Customers
In 2014 Newmont was ready to build its second major mine in Ghana. Newmont had been using agitators manufactured in South Africa for many years at its Ahafo mine and decided to for look for a less maintenance intensive product for its Akyim operation. Newmont ordered 11 Ekato units for its new operation and in the 8+ years of operation to date there has not been a single shaft failure.
At Anglogold Ashanti’s operation in Obuasi they had been experiencing frequent shaft and gearbox failures with the previous agitators supplied for the backfill application. The duty required agitators often to restart when there was settlement of slurry in the tanks and this posed such challenges that the mine was changing shafts and gearboxes every few months. After much communication with Anglogold Ashanti they decided to try an Ekato solution. It worked and the Ekato design and manufacture has enabled uninterrupted and continuous operation of the agitators there, eliminating unscheduled shutdowns for agitator issues.
Expanding Into East Africa
The success of Ekato’s growth in Ghana has been echoed in Tanzania on account of Holdtrade’s extensive network of contacts in the mining industry. Geita Gold Mine (GGM), Anglogold Ashanti’s flagship mine in Tanzania, was using agitators manufactured exclusively in South Africa from the inception of its operation there. Holdtrade’s regular presence at the mine and familiarity with the operation gradually encouraged the operators to trial Ekato agitators in less critical applications such as the tailings and caustic operations. The successful operation of the units gave GGM the confidence to introduce Ekato agitators in the CIL application. Ekato agitators were able to deliver several operational advantages such as lower power consumption, less maintenance and increased oxygen distribution to increase gold recovery. The result is that more units are being introduced now.
Holdtrade is active at other mines in Tanzania, such as North Mara, supporting Ekato equipment. Holdtrade has now entered a co-operation with a Tanzanian supply and service company. This joint venture allows Holdtrade and Ekato to supply into the Tanzania market in compliance with Tanzania government Mining Commission regulations. Thus, Ekato is now poised to increase its footprint in Tanzania as well as Ghana.
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