AST ERP Solutions, a business unit of the AST Group, has been awarded the contract to implement and support a SAP R/3 implementation for Palabora Mining Company. The value of the contract is worth R48 million.
Palabora Mining Company (PMC), a listed South African company in which Rio Tinto owns a 49% interest, is the largest copper producer in SA. In the Northern Province, PMC operates an underground mine, a large copper smelter and a refinery, as well as a vermiculite mine and processing plant, which is a world leader in this market.
The implementation will see the replacement of the current mainframe system with the Rio Tinto SAP-based template, as part of a larger information system strategy for the mining company. After the implementation of its total operational performance (TOP) programme aimed at reducing costs by 30% over the next two years, Palabora required the necessary systems to help "lock in" these savings.
Project Director for Palabora, Kevin McLeish, says the implementation of the Rio Tinto SAP template will allow the transfer of best practice business processes from the Rio Tinto`s mines worldwide to improve business efficiency significantly. These new business processes at Palabora will provide significant cost savings through integrated maintenance and procurement planning, better cash management and improved management of human resources.
"The SAP-based system offers Palabora an integrated system that will enable the mining company to co-ordinate business activity and support the flow of information across processes," explains Pieter Boshoff, MD of AST ERP Solutions. "Faster access to information will allow the Palabora to make better business decisions more quickly, and improve business activities."
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