Spanish mining technology company Torsa has launched its pan-African business hub in South Africa with intentions to drastically reduce mining incidents and fatalities, it said yesterday in a statement.
This was in line with a presidential Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the end of 2022 during an official visit to South Africa by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who signed an MoU on co-operation in the field of Industry 4.0 with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Sánchez announced that Spain would make approximately R35 billion available over the next five years to support the participation of Spanish companies’ projects in South Africa and beyond.
The company announced the opening of its local office and market presence, but sees it as a gateway to Africa.
Gabino de Diego, a director of Business Development at Torsa, said: “The launch of Torsa’s office in Johannesburg is another step in our goal of taking our technology to all the main mining markets in the world, particularly Africa.
“South Africa is a very interesting market, not only because of its mining potential, but also because of its strategic role within the African continent, as well as its current commitment to apply technologies and procedures focused on increasing safety and productivity in mining operations.”
De Diego said in addition to its South African launch, Torsa had its sights set on the Copperbelt region and other important markets including Botswana, Mozambique and Morocco for future African expansion.
“Our experience in other areas, including distribution and renewable energy, brings technological developments that can benefit South Africa. In the field of distribution, Torsa works for the world’s leading distributors of medicines, like Alliance HealthCare, and in the renewable industry we have set up wind farms in Spain and Chile to provide energy to the equivalent of a city of half a million inhabitants with an investment of more than €300 million (R5.6 trillion),” he said.
BUSINESS REPORT