Achiever's Success Story
The Managing Director at Yellowstripe Resources in Zambia.
In 2014, he moved to Zambia to explore the landscape of the copper mining industry. Navigating through a brand new industry and its needs, he quickly warmed up to the existing mechanism. Understanding a complex metallurgical process in layman terms, the copper mines use metal balls for extraction of the metal, separating it from the ore.
Given his penchant for experiment, he set out to revamp the world of mining in Zambia. Puneet created a first-of-its-kind industry by marrying a melting and rolling plant with a forging plant to manufacture the mill balls in a single unit. These balls would be forged, making them substantially more efficient and durable. This novel manufacturing unit not only prides itself with the product but also its ecological sustainability. The manufacturing plant uses scrap metal as input and does not employ any re-heating procedures or use of oil, making it an environmentally sustainable model.
In a traditional structure of production, the mill balls are produced in three separate manufacturing units which involves re-heating. These cast balls are the norm in the industry.
While the forged mill balls were expected to revolutionize the mining sector in Zambia, the mines’ apprehension to try a new product significantly dampened the expectations. While the negotiations and trials were underway, the world switched gears into a pandemic.
In a land locked country without ready availability of equipment and inventory, the challenge seemed unsur mountable. Labour which was regularly flown in from India for training the local labour couldnot migrate due to travel restrictions. Various consignments which were in the process of getting shipped could not reach the destination. Mechanics and Engineers could not travel for regular inspection and repair either. These unprecedented times necessitated unprecedented solutions to keep the show running. Even when the balls didn’t seem to be rolling, the industry consistently produced to ensure quality and efficiency.
As the conversations for trial were underway, mines that tested the ‘new’ ball in the market were not disappointed with their experiment. Today, despite the pandemic raging and all associated problems existing, Yellow Stripe Resources has become the trusted supplier for mines in Zambia. As the quality of the ball is becoming talk of the town, forged balls are on their way to become the new norm in the Zambia mining sector.