Maintaining a competitive edge in the mining industry : the case of Blackrock mine, Northern Cape Province

The marginalisation the South African mining industry faces unique challenges to remain sustainable. A sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved through continuous innovation and the creation of new ideas (Prasad, 1993). South Africa's mining industry should focus on productivity and cost trends to remain competitive. Operating margins have to remain or become more competitive to attract investments into the industry and to be able sustain the existing operations. For the industry to remain competitive it must be provided with an operating and investment environment that does not disadvantage it in relation to local and global mining organisations (Prasad, 1993). Despite investments, the government derives benefits by getting mines to incorporate authority in their strategic plans and other plans in order to make it an integral part of their domination, as required by the framework. The Blackrock Mine, with its distinct character, mandate and capability permits an investigation to assess the degree to which it has integrated in its strategic Planning and other plans to achieve its objectives and outcomes. This research explores this problem by way of investigating the extent to which the Blackrock mine has integrated the requirements of the framework in its plans, as well as its substructure capability adequacy. This was done through the theoretical and practical approach to the topic. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data for this study. A questionnaire consisting of three parts has been used in the survey. Key words: competitive intelligence, planning, tools, other industries, knowledge management, strategies, mission statements, SWOT, business knowledge, frameworks, mining, industry re-organisation

Grantor dc:publisher

North-West University (South Africa)

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Mudau, Ahatakali Mercy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lubbe, S.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10394/40969

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.nwu.ac.za:10394/40969