SME had a visible presence at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum’s (CIM) convention held in Vancouver May 11-14. SME staff included John Marsden, SME’s 2014 president, Tim Reagan, Director of Operations, and (me) Billie Emas, Membership Coordinator. During this event, SME had the opportunity to engage with several individuals from among the 40+ delegates from West Africa who were invited to CIM to participate in a summit to bring together local African suppliers and Canadian mines operating in West Africa.
L-R Alin Kambou, Association of Burkina Faso Suppliers of Mining Services and Equipment, Bob Schafer, past SME Board Member and 2013 CIM President, Elhadji Traore from Senegal.
Mamadou Ouattara, Trade Advisor from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso, said there are many mines owned and operated by American and Canadian companies in West African countries like his, as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal. Personnel and mining supplies are, for the most part, outsourced from Canada and Mexico because local equipment suppliers don’t currently meet the prerequisites for supplying these large American and Canadian mining operations. The delegates and trade representatives are looking for ways in which they can become suppliers to these mining companies operating in West Africa. The main reason they were invited to CIM was to try to bridge that gap. These delegates are hungry for knowledge, information, and industry contacts to help them learn what they need to do in order become authorized suppliers to these large mining companies operating in their countries.
Enter SME. Many of the delegates we spoke with were very interested in our books,
OneMine.org, and the potential to meet our members who could guide them in the process of becoming authorized suppliers. Alin Kambou joined SME during the CIM meeting. We have invited other delegates we spoke with from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Senegal to attend the 2015 SME Annual Conference and Expo, February 15-18 in Denver, to learn more about how to connect their need with the international experience and expertise of SME and our membership.