Can you give an overview of BG Global and the company’s role in the mining industry?

BG Global (Pty) Limited is an unlisted, majority black-owned and controlled international investment firm with a diversified portfolio of investment propositions. BG Global was Founded in 2010 as a mining and energy business, specifically focussing on exploration projects in iron ore, manganese, and coal.

Our international footprint and presence is in unlisted assets in Mining & Exploration, Mining Services, Commodity marketing, Energy, Financial Solutions, Mergers & Acquisitions, Safety Systems, Property, Technology & the manufacturing sector.

BG Global has presence and partnerships in Europe (Berlin, Germany) for energy, the United Kingdom (London & Manchester) in respect of mining services, United States (Atlanta and New York) in respect of safety systems, Europe (Turkey, Istanbul) for Technology and the British Virgin Islands and Asia (China), for its mining & exploration portfolio.

BG Global is invested in several sectors of the South African economy, including coal mining, coal exploration, chrome, gold and vanadium. We own a brownfield copper project and one brownfield chrome-vanadium project that is currently under an intense drilling and classification program in the Limpopo province, and a coal project in the Mpumalanga province. We also have a subsidiary company that offers mining services, in respect of regulatory permitting work and exploration work, to clients such as Anglo, Masimong Group, and Rio Tinto, amongst others.

For the past six years, we have been managing a coal and power project in Limpopo that possesses a four billion tonne resource which is now at a bankable feasibility study. The BG Global team led and carried out all the permitting, exploration work for this project and we are currently busy with capital raising.

Besides mining services, we have a subsidiary company working with a company in Germany, IB VOGT, and we are focussing on solar renewable energy projects. We also have a subsidiary company that mines, washes and markets coal, iron ore, manganese, and chrome to the local and international markets. Additionally, BG Global is also involved in the corporate finance space in terms of M&A, raising capital, primarily for mining-related transactions through our subsidiary BG Financial Solutions. Lastly, we have a strong presence in safety systems and underground communication and where we are currently finalizing a proximity detection system transaction with a US-based company operating out of South Africa.

How would you characterize the current health of the South African mining industry?

Historically, the mining industry has contributed significantly to South Africa’s GDP and employs over 450,000 individuals, making it the highest employment sector in the country. From a legislation point of view, the current Minister gazetted the latest mining charter in late 2020, which provided stability and regulatory certainty for the sector. There have been some permitting delays, but the government is addressing the backlog issues. As a member of the Minerals Council, BG Global is advocating for implementing a permitting system that is more user friendly that will provide the global mining community with more ease of reference.

In South Africa, the Mining and Energy department has been merged as one. On the energy side, we have seen significant progress in terms of policy that’s enabling the renewable energy space for South Africa. For example, in late 2020, the Mining Minister gazetted a policy that stipulates that mining companies can produce their own power for their own operations. Major players in the industry, such as Pan African Resources amongst others, have gone down this route.

From an investor confidence point of view, government can still do more. We need to further intensify certainty and lessen the red tape to attract more international investment into the sector, especially for exploration projects.

Meanwhile, the coal industry is under pressure due to climate change. South Africa has an abundance of coal, but we recognise the environmental impact in respect of climate change, thus, we are focussed on safe mining and adhering to industry norms. We are guided by strict and stringent principles and policies to ensure that we mine safely and responsibly.

Where does BG Global see the highest growth potential?

Our vision is to create a multigenerational business. We aim to diversify our investment propositions in terms of the minerals that we mine, and we want to grow our footprint from an operational point of view. We hope to have the BG Metals listed within the next 18 months and strive to grow our business in Africa. In addition, we want to expand our market share on the safety systems side and become market leader within the next three years. Lastly, we seek to create sustainable jobs, a safe and inspirational work environment and ultimately create value for our shareholders.