The newly formed West African Chamber of Mines (Wacom), which comprises chief executives from the chambers of mines in Ghana, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Burkina Faso, will be officially launched at the twelfth West African Mining & Power Exhibition (Wampex) in June.

Wampex is West Africa’s biggest mining and power industries exhibition, and provides a valuable network platform for suppliers to showcase products and services directly to power and mining sector companies.

“Wacom recognises the key role played by the Wampex event in the mining industry in West Africa and it provides the ideal platform for the inauguration of the new chamber,” says Ghana Chamber of Mines external relations and communications director Ahmed Nantogmah.

Nantogmah highlights that the exhibition will bring together key stakeholders and operators from all regions to discuss sustainable mining and power investment in the presently challenging global environment. “Wampex is an ideal platform to promote learning between countries with rich experience in exploiting mineral resources.”

He further notes that the relevance and visibility of important industry bodies is greatly improved after events like this, and that the participation of the new chamber, thus, presents an excellent opportunity to publicise and market it to all the key mining operators and suppliers in the region.

“Slowly rising interest in gold and other resources is fuelling a gradual turnaround in mining prospects, which is why Wampex is so important to the mining and power sectors,” Exhibition Management Services Africa show organiser and VP of international exhibitions Christine Davidson notes.

Developing Local, International Supply Chains
Both local and international suppliers will showcase their products at Wampex 2016, which takes place from June 1 to June 3 at the Accra International Conference Centre, in Ghana.

South African multidisciplinary pumps manufacturer and supplier KSB Pumps & Valves believes that there are good opportunities for expanding its client base in Africa as companies are increasingly focusing on efficiency, uptime and keeping plants running in a reliable and efficient manner.

“Wampex is an opportunity for original-equipment manufacturers to become more involved in the market and not simply sell products, but also sell solutions with technical expertise, services and support that assists clients in a way that makes price-based procurement an unattractive proposition,” explains KSB media and events manager Annett Kriel.

Technical services and equipment supplier Multi-Tech Services will showcase its range of products, including CJC off-line oil filtration systems, the Knelson gravity gold concentrator, the millMAX-e slurry pump, dewatering and dredging pumps, and what the company claims to be the market’s most efficient BMS belt cleaners. Multi-Tech Services GM Ulrik Plenge Jacobsen says the company’s main objective is to provide mines with products that reduce costs, power consumption and the load on the environment.