Online mining auction attracts range of buyers

FOLLOWING industry demand and international trends, an online mining auction was held recently for stock from mining giants Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin and Diesel Power.

The auction, which attracted buyers from as far as the UK, US and Australia, produced exceptional results showing a renewed interest in the sector.

The auction, conducted by Clear Asset, utilised advanced technology and a highly efficient bidding system to successfully sell a variety of mining assets to both local and international buyers.

Ariella Kuper, MD and cofounder of Clear Asset, said: “The results produced show firstly that there is improved confidence in online purchases in SA, and secondly that international companies are looking to SA to purchase such mining equipment.”

There were more than 2,400 viewings on the website, with 245 from Australia, 54 Nigeria, 42 UK, 25 Zimbabwe, 20 Tanzania, 13 Kenya and 12 Botswana.

“It is clear that online is the way forward for sellers looking for a broader buying base,” says Ms Kuper.

Notable results include three Volvo A40 dump trucks sold to a European buyer for R770,000 each, an Atlas Copco drill rig 16 for R319,000, a 2005 Volvo L120 front End Loader for R275,000, a 2007 36-seater Tata Bus for R125,000 and a 2008 Toyota Hino which was sold for R273,000.

“The market is seeing a demand for more legal compliance and this auction was successful as a result of the analytics and systems we set in place, which ensured accurate tracking of bids per asset and detailed reporting structures. Due to the nature of the auction, a wide geographical spread of buyers was achieved and each buyer was able to access maximum information with minimum effort,” Ms Kuper said.

Online auctions are attractive, specifically in this sector, as buyers can search the site for technical information and images without having to incur travel costs to verify the assets.