New Concept Mining

In 2010 the best soccer teams in the world will be coming to South Africa. For the teams that have already qualified, simply to participate in the tournament will no longer be their goal. These teams will be aiming for a quarter final place, a semi-final place or even winning the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy as their target. The better managed teams will also already have commenced plans to ensure they do well in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil!
This past year, New Concept Mining achieved a major goal of being accredited as a Best Employer in South Africa. Now that we have ‘qualified’ the hard work really starts and we need to plan to ensure that we become an even better employer. But why is this so important to us? Let us consider the different ways a company can be measured and the impact that this will have on future success.
The financial results indicate the success in the recent past but are not necessarily a good indicator of future success. For example, low expenditure on machine maintenance could mean that there are high breakdown costs to come in the future.
Measuring the strength of customer relationships is a better indicator of future success than just looking at financial results. If customers are happy with delivery performance, product performance, product development and technical support and feel that prices are competitive then they are likely to continue wanting to be a partner. We have been rated in regular independent customer surveys as the best performing supplier in the South African Mining industry. This is, of course, reassuring and does indicate that we are doing well but, if we do not sustain these performance levels then success may not continue for very long.
An indicator of longer term future success is internal processes. For example, by controlling our processes using ISO we can be more confident that we will continue satisfying our customers in the future. We have recently been internationally accredited to ISO 9001:2008 which proves that our processes are world class. However, if we allow these processes to slip or if the environment changes and we do not change our processes accordingly then our customers would soon become unsatisfied.
The best measure of future long term success is to evaluate whether internal processes are constantly being maintained and improved. There is only one way to ensure that this is achieved and that is by making sure that the skills in our company are at as high a level as possible. The way to achieve this is to strive to become a better employer.
Hence, despite the many successes of 2009, which includes growing sales and being accredited with ISO 9001:2008, the achievement that stands out is our accreditation as a ‘Best Employer’. In line with this our main objective is to become an even better employer by continuing to invest in our people.
The Best Employer benchmarking mechanism allows us to compare our progress as an employer relative to the broader South African market, year-on-year. This allows us to continue identifying areas for improvement.
A major initiative at New Concept Mining for 2010 is World Class Manufacturing whereby all employees, particularly those on the shop floor, will be encouraged to participate in decision making relevant to their work. This will promote the empowerment of all employees.
In 2010 we are also planning to provide free Voluntary Aids Testing for employees as well as extended clinic hours.
Other initiatives include an increased focus on development and training throughout the company.
We have an exciting year to look forward to and I would like to congratulate everyone on your successes this past year and wish you a happy and safe holiday period.

Every two years the Peruvian Mining Society hosts the Extemin mining convention and exhibition in Arequipa in Southern Peru. It is one of the largest mining events in South America and is an important marketing event for New Concept Mining Peru. This year the conference was held from 14 to 18 September and in addition to attending the conference New Concept Mining also participated in the exhibition.
Brendan Crompton flew to Arequipa to join Juan Quiroga, Frank Vasquez, Enrique Rivas, Freddy Huallpa and Willy Altamirano from NCM’s office in Lima to attend the show. In order to give the stand an authentic South African feel the display was built as a replica of a lapa bar and decorated with South African memorabilia. The stand exhibited Jackpots, Hydrabolts, Jackpacks, NCM’s Accessories and the new FOGLight which generated a lot of interest.
The show was very successful with plenty of interest in NCM’s products with visits to the stand from important existing customers as well as many potential customers.

During August of this year Philip and I visited our branch office and customers in South America. After flying from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo in Brazil and then connecting to Lima in Peru we were met by Juan and Susan Quiroga. On our first evening in Lima at a dinner organised by Juan, we met a number of our South American customers. We had an enjoyable evening although it was difficult to communicate as our customers spoke little or no English and both Philip and I spoke even less Spanish.
Monday morning found us up at 05h00 dressed in our overalls and safety boots ready for the drive up the Andes Mountains. Three hours later we had gone from sea level to 4000 m above sea level. We stopped for breakfast in a village bracing ourselves for the onslaught of ‘altitude sickness’ but apart from for a few light headed moments we were thankfully unaffected although it was reassuring to always have an oxygen cylinder at hand. Juan and Frank are to be commended for their driving skills as the mountain pass was like nothing I have ever experienced. While the roads are generally in reasonable condition the same cannot be said of the vehicles we encountered going twice the speed limit and it appears that overtaking on blind corners and rises is absolutely fine and apparently legal! On a number of occasions we had to stop on our side of the road while the vehicle overtaking squeezed back onto his side without so much as an apologetic wave. A normal day at the office…
Our first stop was Maracocha Mine, part of the Pan American Silver group, where we went under ground. This mine is situated 4600 m above sea level with temperatures averaging –10° C. After a restless night’s sleep in a rather eerie hotel at La Oroya near the mine we were off to San Christobal and Andaychagua mines and after going through the endless red tape to get underground we finally made it. The next afternoon saw us driving a further two hours into the Andes to El Brocal mine, which was to be our home for the next two nights. The following day we travelled to Chungar mine which is also part of the Volcano group where we eventually made it underground. The reef in this mine is a large body that is 12 meters wide and hundreds of meters high. The ground conditions are very poor resulting in large numbers of Hydrabolts being used. Later that same afternoon we drove back to El Brocal and went underground there as well. Roberto, one of the Rock Engineers was our guide and we were taken to a very interesting section where they mine with pillars that eventually attain a height of 12 meters. Those same pillars are 6 m wide and 6 m long. It is easy to think that you are in a huge cathedral when among the pillars. From here we were taken to the ‘open pit’ section of the mine. This was awe-inspiring! It is enormous. The huge trucks working in the pit looked smaller than dinky cars! That evening saw us doing a presentation to some of the El Brocal mine employees about our peru2

company, people and products.
The next day we were up at 03h30 to drive to Cerro de Pasco in time to do another presentation to the Paraysha Mine Manager and his team of 115 people at 05h00 in the morning. By 06h30 we were back on the road to Lima for another hair raising six hour trip. Our trip proved to be very successful as by the time we arrived back in Lima that afternoon the mine had already placed an order.
There was to be no rest for the weary as Juan had us entertaining customers the minute we got back to Lima. While tiring it was interesting to get know the people of Peru. Communication was an endless battle but we managed thanks to our wonderful interpreters namely Juan, Frank, Roberto and Susan.
Mines in Peru are all located in very harsh countryside and apart from the area around El Brocal, there is no vegetation at all just bare volcanic rock formations.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax –
Of cabbages – and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.”

This famous verse by Lewis Carroll (from “The walrus and the carpenter”) sprung to mind when I reviewed our accomplishments for this article. Although the original poem was about a walrus and a carpenter seducing a bunch of oysters into becoming dinner, this particular verse and its assorted topics could briefly describe the many varied focuses of the projects team.
I noticed that we take care of everything from painting a wall to capital equipment. We installed the 2 new Chin Fong presses, bag loading, spot weld cells and tubemill de-coiler, prepared for the installation of Tubemill filter and Turks head, and will hand-over the new Tubemill crane by the end of the year. At the same time we painted most of the offices, repaired and built walls, revamped change-rooms and assisted maintenance and other departments with any requirement’s they had. Koos put in good effort in ensuring the production tooling is always available.
The Accurate Accessible Documentation initiative being taken care of by Clinton, which forms part of the Process Technology Strategy, is fast gaining momentum with the majority of drawings having been checked and placed on the server. The important focus for the next few months will be updating all the quality plans and highlighting the ‘critical’ dimensions on all components.
A major success from the last part of the year would be the upgrade to the Swage presses which has improved the availability and reduced the number of breakdowns. We are eager and excited to start with improvements to Hydrabolt equipment and hope to have some spare time for Jackpots.
The past year has been a tough one for the guys, along with a learning curve that has not flattened out, Renato achieved his MSc. in Mechanical Engineering and Corne is just a few subjects away from his B-Tech. I foresee another challenging year ahead as we hope to improve the quality of finished projects and do our bit in achieving the company targets and strategies. Gregg with his workshop and renovations team, Bez and Shane, and the ever reliable Rob Fletcher have been tirelessly working in the background as the engineers and I attain our goals. I thank you for your effort and commitment and look forward to an even more successful 2010.
I don’t expect next year’s topics of discussion to be any less varied than this year but that is what makes it exciting to be in ‘projects’.

Rand Gold Primary School is situated on the way to Rustenburg from Johannesburg, approximately 6 km past the town of Magaliesburg. The school is situated in a rural area and is surrounded by farming communities. The beautiful surroundings of the Magaliesburg mountain range makes this a picturesque and tranquil area for scholars to receive their education. The school currently caters for scholars from grade ‘R’ to grade ‘7’ and has about 200 learners in total.
New Concept Mining, true to its endeavour to promote learning, has been associated with the school since 2007. With the growing number of pre-school scholars a need arose for an additional classroom and a sick bay facility. NCM sponsored the building of a dedicated classroom for the grade R’s and sick-bay facility which was completed in 2007.
In August of this year, I met with the Principal of the school, Josef Kegang, and discussed various needs that the school currently has. The need for proper storage space in all the classrooms was identified as a first priority to facilitate a better learning environment for the scholars. As a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, NCM sponsored the installation of the shelving in the classrooms, partitioning in the office area and sick bay and the fitting out of their kitchen facility.
Upon visiting the school on 6 November 2009, many thanks were expressed from all the teachers and children for the improvements that were introduced. NCM is proud to be associated with this school and to have been part of this initiative.

The craft of Tube and Pipe making has predominately been termed a ‘black art’ which means that it has been a closely guarded skills secret that only a few individuals have. No structured courses have been available in order to learn the process of tube making, until now, that is.
About 6 months ago NCM was approached by the Tube Makers Association, which is a body of people that represents all of the major tube making companies in Africa. In conjunction with Merseta (Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA) they invited the tube making industry to participate in developing a course, which will be recognized through the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) as a certified qualification in order to qualify as a Tube Maker.
In line with NCM’s commitment to training and development we joined forces with the larger players in the industry and have embarked on the development of a training programme for tube making. Although there was a relatively poor response from most of the industry Robor, Macsteel, Trident Steel and CPT have all became involved in the formulation of the training material for tube making. Robor in particular have put their full weight behind the training and have commissioned a full time consulting engineer to assist on their behalf.
The training material is made up of 4 levels, currently up to level 2 has been formulated and is available on the CPT website for comment by industry. Levels 3 and 4 are still in progress. Once all the training material is completed it will carry 120 unit standards for each level, and is expected to take approximately three years to complete.
It is a very exciting period in the industry and is something which has been one of my personal goals for a number of years. Nowhere in the world is there a structured training course for tube making, and NCM are playing a major role with our contribution to developing a fully accredited tube making course with worldwide recognition. We anticipate the training curriculum to be completed towards the middle of 2010.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Pedro Chicane, our UGI on Impala No.1 Shaft on his marriage to Palmina in Maputo, Mozambique in June this year.	From left to right: Nicholas, Tracy, Clyde and Stacy on the day of the Noena twins matric banquet held in October. (Willie Kock’s daughters)
Bataung Andrew Kabo, from the Jackpot Department received an award for outstanding achievement for his suggestions regarding the conveyor system. Production Managers Trevor Hunter and Willie Kock presented him with his award.	Andries Mabumbulu was the only student from the 2009 ABET class to write the ABET exam in November 2009. This is a great achievement and we wish him the best of luck with his results.

RUSTENBURG

patrol NCM Sponsors
Scholar Patrol

NCM are proud sponsors of the scholar patrol uniform for MacHadam Combined School. The school is situated on the corner of the Mooinooi road and Samancor Chrome Mines.

green

Rustenburg Goes Green

In a joint effort between staff and management of NCM Rustenburg the pavement outside their factory and offices is now a lot ‘greener’. At the beginning of November six white stinkwood trees were planted.

Tumelo, Oupa, Modisane, Junior, William,
Solly, Ngwenya, Ronny, Mzomhle and Elias.

Thabazimbi Rocks

The Thabazimbi Area continues to do well, but more importantly our customers remain impressed with the service they received from us and in order to maintain our position as the No.1 supplier in the area customer service is absolutely key! The notoriously difficult transition from 220 and 160 Jackpots to 140's went very smoothly mainly due to the dedication of all the Underground Instructors. I would like to thank each and every one for all their hard work. Our Team in Thabazimbi would also like to thank the Aeroton team for the long hours they worked in order to ensure that we had quality products to work with.
David Nkamba, previously from Dishaba mine, has moved to Northam Platinum where he is making a significant impact with his underground experience as well as his people skills.
Congratulations to Page and Doris Moremi on the latest addition to their family. The Moremi family has been blessed with a brand new baby girl, Virginia Otshepeng who was born on 21 October 2009 and enjoys perfect health.
Lastly, we would like to thank our Rustenburg team; we can't do it without you, you guys and girls rock!

Llen Barber

edu

Hilario Wins GOLD for Safety

Hilario Nhabombe who works at Impala No. 8 shaft is an integral part of the shafts safety and has won a gold medal for safety. In order to achieve this they worked for 9 months without an accident. Hilario is a shining example of the important work our UGI's are doing.

Skenking vir Larries Voedingskema

New Concept Mining is al vir 'n geruime tyd betrokke by Laerskool Rustenburg se voedingskema. Hulle maak 'n donasie van 'n R1000 per maand en voed 65 kinders 'n dag, en met die huidige ekonomiese klimaat het dit nou gegroei tot 100 kinders 'n dag. Larries wil graag vir Mnr Dave Gravett bedank vir sy betrokkenheid by die skool.

Mnr Gravett Algemene Bestuurder Verkope, saam met
Mev Helé Henning, Projek koordineerder.

Comments from a recent staff survey

comment

What motivates you MOST about your job?

The dynamic environment that challenges me daily.
Selling the best products there are.
Convincing anti-NCM customers to change to NCM.
Never a dull moment.
The environment in which I work, being given the ability to express any concerns that I may have with regard to my job, being exposed to a technical field and having the opportunities to learn something new every day.
The opportunity to make a difference.
Never a dull moment.

What motivates you LEAST about your job?

Not meeting a dead-line.
People that push their own objectives instead of the company’s objectives.
Not being able to assist people, being in a position where I cannot or if its beyond my control to assist.
Lack of buy-in of new equipment.
Filing, but it comes with the job.
I’m overburdened and am not getting to everything that I need to do to be efficient.
Not having the same enthusiasm from other managers in the business.

How are you treated by your manager/supervisor?

I do not feel that we have an open and honest relationship.
The Manager treats me fairly and is never rude to me.
He has respect for me and believes in me.

How do you feel about the future of the company?

I see a great future for myself at NCM.
This company is already great it can become greater.
I have hope.
I believe NCM will always prosper.

How important is your job relative to the Company achieving its strategic objectives?

It’s important because other peoples lives depend on how well I do my job.
Inventory figures must be accurate at all times.

Is the company encouraging training and development?

The company is always pushing for personal development.
I’ve just come back from ISO training.
Training and development form of performance appraisals.

Do you think the Clinic is a good benefit?

Especially for people without medical aid.

Are the number and value of bursaries offered for children of employee’s by the company adequate?

This is the first company that I have seen that puts so much focus on education.
It is fair because its a gift, you need to be thankful.
You can never have enough help and assistance as education is very expensive.

The Ingredients for Leadership in
World Class Manufacturing Companies

Self-discipline is one of the most important criteria for business success. While industry leading skills and knowledgeable people are central to the success of any organization, a culture of discipline is what truly differentiates a winning company. Skills can be taught, self discipline cannot. True organisational success is achieved through a team of committed individuals, who strive methodically to grow themselves, their divisions and ultimately the company when charting the course of the company. A crucial consideration is whether the right team members are on board.
Many management teams invest heavily in developing business strategies without even considering whether the people have the attitude and discipline to deliver what is required. A proposed business strategy will live or die with the people who must implement it. Be brutally honest about the level of commitment of each team member, identify their strengths and weaknesses. Ensure management gives the right support and direction they require to do their job. In successful companies the culture of discipline starts at the very top. Leaders display self-discipline, they are brutally honest about their own shortcomings and ensure that they choose executives who counter them. They lead with passion and commitment and are not egocentric. They recognise that the organisation isn’t built on the back of just one visionary leader. These leaders will create a culture of teamwork. They will recognise that the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts.
Each person must know that his success is inextricably linked to the success of the team as a whole, and that if his/her team is to win more often, he/she must take responsibility for improving his/her game. He/she must become accountable for his/her actions. This will eliminate the need for regimented and often counterproductive hierarchies.
Achieving success through a team is particularly relevant in world class manufacturing. Companies are under pressure to transform. Individuals have to work side by side to build on each others strengths and to compensate for their colleagues weaknesses. It is critical that individuals don’t allow themselves to feel threatened and protective of their positions. Throughout history, true leaders have surrounded themselves with talent in a disciplined manner. They do so with the intention of “Working themselves out of a job” They are not egocentric and they set up their successors to achieve even greater heights.

Trevor Hunter

squash

Philip competes at SA Masters

Philip Maxton represented Gauteng at the
SA Masters Inter-Provincial Squash Championships for 2009
held in Cape Town.

Tuckers Lilla Kapell at NCM

NCM employees were provided with some unexpected entertainment when Philip Maxton arranged for an acoustic band from Sweden to play a few of their songs in the Jackpot factory one morning. More than 100 people crowded onto the factory floor to be entertained by the band called ‘Tuckers Lilla Kapell’ who are currently touring South Africa.

soccer

Reflections on 200(9)

It is that time of the year when everything seems to speed up towards the official closure period. It is so close to the festive season, yet so much still needs to be done. When I wrote this article, there was roughly a month to go to the official closure period, but it seems as if time is running out faster than anticipated.
If you discount the annual closure time with all of the associated public holidays, we have eleven months in a work year to accomplish everything we have set ourselves to do. So, mathematically speaking, we still have one eleventh of the year to go, that equates to 9%.
This makes me think about the significance of the number 9, so here are some interesting facts about the number:
proud Everyone has seen the magic square which is commonly known as one of the nine squares in the game “Sudoku”. A magic square is when each number is used only once, but the horizontal, vertical and diagonal sums are all equal. For example:
4+9+2=15; 2+7+6=15; 8+5+2=15 and so on.
Nine has a special significance in Mathematics as multiplying by nine reveals mirror symmetry among numbers. If any number is multiplied by nine the resulting digits always add to nine. For example: 2 x 9 = 18 (1+8=9); 3 x 9 = 27 (2+7=9); 4 x 9 = 36 (3+6=9); 234 × 9 = 2106 (2 + 1 + 0 + 6 = 9), and so on.
In Astrology, there are nine planets in our solar system, i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
To everyone, the number nine will have a different meaning. I hope that all of you had a great 200(9). Saying goodbye to 2009 and welcoming 2010 will come and go at a rapid pace. Reflecting on 2009, I find myself scratching my head and trying to fill voids when I cannot remember what happened in January or even June of this year.
However, 2009 has undoubtedly been a year of achievements for the business as a whole. From an HR perspective, undoubtedly the highlight has been the accreditation as a “Best Employer – South Africa”. And would you believe it, the accreditation was done by benchmarking nine areas within the business i.e. The HR function; Communication; Diversity Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Knowledge Sharing and Management; Talent Management and Staff Engagement; Employee Development; Performance Management; and Reward and Recognition.
I want to thank the HR team for all their hard work and dedication during 2009. It has not been an easy year but you guys have pulled through with distinction. 2010 is around the corner and we will be presented with unique and challenging opportunities. The achievements of 2009 must act as the foundation to build on for the future.
To all fellow employees, have a great break during the festive season. For those travelling, make it a safe trip and come back in 2010 energised, motivated and purposeful to make 2010 an even greater year.

The views expressed in Izwi Lethu are not necessarily those of New Concept Mining

NCM Long Service Awards

NCM Long
Service Awards