In March, Group Managing Director, Schalk Venter, together with his senior leadership team from around the globe, gathered at a strategic planning conference to craft the way forward for AEL’s Vision 2017.

This entailed the unearthing of strategic milestones that are to be achieved to deliver on AEL’s vision. Various diverse teams were identified to work on milestones.

Expanding its footprint into international regions such as South East Asia, South America and Africa meant that AEL needed to review its global supply chain strategy with the view of ensuring the security of explosives’ supply anywhere in the world, even in remote and challenging areas.

The North West African region, which has previously been neglected for its commodity and resources potential, has opened up hugely in the last few years with a string of new mining projects expected to come on stream, particularly in Burkina Faso, presenting numerous opportunities for South African mining services companies. That is according to Julian Taylor, Director General: North West Africa, at AEL Mining Services, who says there is much un-met demand for processing industries to set up in the region. “Countries like Burkina Faso have really opened up to the mining industry by making it far easier to set up new businesses.”