Although still a new and small company, Itirele Mokwena Construction has lofty ambitions for the mining machinery business that it has set up to service the South African, and potentially, African markets.

The company, founded by entrepreneur Daron Molotsane, has partnered with Chinese mining equipment manufacturer Fambition Mining Technologies to supply the South African market.

Itirele Mokwena Construction will use Electra Mining Africa to launch a range of imported underground trackless equipment to the local mining industry. On show will be Fambition’s 4 m3 load, haul, and dump, or LHD, machine.

Molotsane believes the equipment should be well received by local mining companies and notes that the Fambition machinery is already used extensively in China, Chile and Russia.

“Competition is stiff in the trackless mining industry, but some of our competitors are too relaxed and have not kept prices in check,” says Molotsane, a trained diesel mechanic assistant and former employee of Sibanye-Stillwater.

Itirele Mokwena Construction will initially import equipment from China, but the company intends to set up a local assembly plant in South Africa, potentially in 2019. Its first priority will be to assemble a low profile machine, using components manufactured in China.

Molotsane, a former Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa youth league leader, aims to leverage the local assembly of underground mining equipment to develop young and upcoming technicians.

Besides supplying underground trackless equipment, Itirele Mokwena Construction, through its partnership with Fambition, will also overhaul and service underground equipment and provide spare parts.

Itirele Mokwena Construction has further established a road construction and maintenance business, which uses permazyme – a soil stabilisation agent that minimises the cost of modern road construction.

“At Itirele Mokwena Construction, we believe that the future is bold. It is rare to find a young company moving to take on big rivals, but Itirele Mokwena Construction will stand its ground,” says Molotsane.