About Us
About A&B Global Group
A&B Global Group is a leading niche mining consultancy represented in South Africa, India and the U.A.E providing world-class consulting services to clients across multi-commodities around the world. Our core services focus on Exploration, Mineral Resources management, mine optimization, LOM mine planning, practical mining solutions, Scoping, Pre-Feasibility and Feasibility studies, ventilation design, geotechnical studies and applications, process modelling, clean energy and legal compliance services.
Also, with our partners, we offer EPC and EPCM services in a comprehensive range of industry sectors including infrastructure and environment; commercial development; minerals; metals and chemicals; power; and hydrocarbons and petrochemicals. This ensures that co-ordination of all services is handled with due diligence, providing quality and timely service to our clients.
We have been the premier choice for several large mining houses to undertake Competent Person mining reviews of scoping and feasibility studies undertaken by large globally represented mining consultancies.
Our Slogan
OUR INSIGHT, YOUR FORESIGHT
Concisely describes our capacity to fully ascertain and comprehend the critical issues at hand. This greatly enhances our clients’ ability to plan prudently, identify and quantify the significance and nature of future events.
Our Operating Strategy
The operating strategy of A&B Global Group is to maintain a network of professional consultants who are able to provide a diverse and extensive skills pool. Through these various levels of associate agreements within its operational network. A&B Global Group is able to retain overall project management and ensure the highest deliverable standards.
A&B Global Group's Competitive Structure
Our structure enables us to be very competitive and provide the services of highly motivated, multi-disciplinary, and multi-commodity professionals. We take pride in the fact that the services we provide are also innovative, intuitive, and as a consequence, demonstrated as being integral to our clients’ success. A&B Global Group provides a range of consulting services that enables it to deliver comprehensive solutions to meet the needs of our clients.
Our Mission
 Driven by Integrity, Excellence, Sustainability, Collaboration and Empathy, we deliver innovative, value-driven, and sustainable consulting solutions tailored for the global mining sector.
Our Vision
To be the leading niche technical partner in the global minerals industry.
Devendra Vyas
Executive Chairman & Principal Mining Engineer
B.E. Mining Engineering, MSAIMM, MECSA, MIMMM
Experience: 21+ years
Devendra Vyas
Managing Director & Principal Mining Engineer
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Industrial mineral, Diamond & Gems, Coal
Mr. Vyas is a mining engineer with over 21 of years’ experience in geological modelling, mining engineering, strategic mine planning, due diligence, strategic business planning, and project management. He is the principal shareholder of the A&B Global Group (South Africa and India). He commenced his career with Hindustan Zinc Limited (India) as Engineer-Mines and later joined Datamine International Ltd. (India), Ararat Gold Recovery Company (Armenia), Konkola Copper Mines Plc (Zambia), Datamine South Africa, CAE Mining Africa, and the UK. Mr. Vyas is a Competent/Qualified Person for Mineral Resources in several commodities, in particular base and precious metals. He played a pivotal role in optimising and improving business profitability on various strategic mining projects across the globe. He has extensive knowledge in planning software platforms for mine planning, design, and scheduling including well-known mining technologies. During his career, he worked in more than 25 countries across the globe. He is the principal shareholder in the A&B Global Group (South Africa and India).
Ettienne Oosthuizen
Managing Director & Principal Mining Engineer
B.Tech Mining Engineering, MSAIMM, MIMMM
Experience: 24+ years
Ettienne Oosthuizen
Director: Operations & Principal Mining Engineer
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Industrial mineral, Diamond & Gems, Coal
Mr. Oosthuizen has over 24 years of experience in the mining industry ranging from deep-level underground to open-pit mining. He started his mining career at AngloGold Ashanti in 1999 at the bottom of the mine production ladder and moved through the ranks of mining production to eventually be developed and groomed for top management. He joined A&B Global Group South Africa in 2011 to further his expertise in the mining engineering industry and has since been involved in various projects and commodities. His expertise includes project management, mine consulting, prefeasibility studies financial modelling, mine design and LOM planning/scheduling, and open-pit optimisation. Mr. Oosthuizen is a Competent/Qualified Person for Mineral Resources in several commodities, particularly gold and precious metals. He has been a key player in various local tactical planning projects for listed companies and his international project exposure includes several countries in Asia and Africa.
André van der Merwe
Group Head of Technical
Grad Dip Eng (Mining), BSc (Hons) Geophysics, BSc Geology & Physics, Pr. Sci.Nat., FGSSA
Experience: 35+ years
Andre Van Der Merwe
Group Head of Technical
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Diamond & Gems, Coal
Mr. van der Merwe has 35+ years of hands-on experience in the minerals industry with insightful knowledge in the disciplines of geology, geophysics, exploration, mining, project management, project development and mineral economics. He has completed many Competent/Qualified Person technical reports, due diligence reviews and mineral asset valuations, covering a wide range of mineralisation styles. He also has been a Technical Consultant/ Advisor/ Owner’s Engineer for successful listings on FTSE, AIM, TSX, ASX and JSE, as well as institutional and private fundraisings. Mr. van der Merwe has managed Prefeasibility and Bankable Feasibility Studies on several mining projects. A particular focus for him is the interplay of risks and results inherent to exploration and development-stage mineral projects. This requires a deep understanding of the economics and how various risks are likely to impact the value of each unique project and evaluating these to plan an optimised risk-time-value management track for each project. He believes that a company needs to understand, quantify and actively manage risks, probabilities and consequences in order to stack the odds in favour of the company’s investments. He has extensive experience across the metal, ore and gemstone categories and has worked for mining organisations across Africa, the Americas, Eastern Europe and Australia.
Dr. Heather King
Group Head of Growth and Development
PhD, GDE (Geostatistics), Pr.Sci.Nat., FGSSA, FSEG
Experience: 25+ years
Dr. Heather King
Group Head of Growth and Development
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Industrial mineral
Dr Heather King has over 25 years of experience in the Minerals and Mining Industry and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist (Pr. Sci. Nat., MGSSA). Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Heather has 10-years’ experience in the underground production environment and 15 years as a technical and management consultant. Heather’s sound technical experience covers a multiple commodities and deposit types, Greenfields and brown fields exploration, production geology, Mineral Resource estimation (Maiden to annual updates), technical. Her experience is global having undertaken projects India, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Somalia, Guinea Bassou, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, DRC, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. She has been responsible for the undertaking of industry best practice geological and geostatistical projects covering a wide variety of commodities, the compilation of proposals with clients, client relationships, and the management of projects. Dr Heather has been responsible for the business development, generation of new business and project pipeline planning for the geology business unit.
Kamal Chatterjee
Regional Head of Asia- Growth and Development
B.E. Mining Engineering MSAIMM, MEP
Experience: 35+ years
Kamal Chatterjee
Regional Head of Asia- Growth and Development
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Industrial mineral, Coal
A dedicated professional with 35 years of rich experience in the Mining and Minerals Sector with deep expertise of handling change dictated by intricate challenges of Operational Excellence and growth. Mr. Chatterjee is a strong believer that Transformation and Change in uncertain times requires renewed and relentless focus on Strategic Planning & Management, operational excellence, data driven continuous improvement within Sustainability paradigm. Expertise in managing the mining operations with key focus on top line / bottom line profitability by ensuring optimal utilization of assets and resources. Firm Operational strategist believing in Mining & Metals transition towards cleaner technologies.
Colin Little
Group Head of Project Execution
B.Tech Mining Engineering, NHD Mining Engineering
Experience: 20+ years
Colin Little
Group Head of Project Execution
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Industrial mineral, Coal
Colin is an experienced mining engineer, specializing in mining operation planning, scheduling, design, capital estimating and costing with over 20 years of post-graduate experience. Colin has gained local and international operational and consulting experience in open pit and underground (both mechanized and conventional), doing Project Management mineral resource management, production planning, mine designing, operational and capital cost estimates, cost modelling, mine closure and consulting by use of an extensive OEM database and Cost Engineering models. Colin has gained experience in Project Management, sales, marketing and business development, business support and advisory by executing tender documents, resource planning & optimization using ERP systems and marketing materials for companies. Colin is a holder of a Mine Managers Certificate of Competency and has worked with major mining houses, namely in South Africa and Australia. Colin has extensive project experience doing engineering, cost estimates, modelling, mineral resource management, design and simulation specializing in mine design software namely Minex, Surpac, Deswik and Talpac. Colin has had a long-term relationship with Ramjack Technology Solutions and has been involved with mining underground technologies for numerous years and was part of the Ramjack team for a short time as a full-time technology applications specialist and has assisted in the sale and implementation of new technologies in the underground mining environment. Colin is currently the Mining Lead at A&B Global Group overseeing all mining aspects from exploration to execution and assisting mining houses in strategic planning, operational and mining engineering, support roles, mine designs, mine optimizations, scheduling, planning, project management, project controls and overall delivery support and execution.
James Keir
Group Head of Engineering
BSc. Eng (Mech), PMP, Adv. Project Management
Experience: 20+ years
James Keir
Group Head of Engineering
Commodity Experience: Platinum, Zinc, Manganese, Diamonds, Copper, Chrome
James has over 20 years’ experience in large scale multi-disciplined, regulated engineering construction projects as Engineer, Engineering Manager and Project Manager and Senior Project Manager.  Managed multi-disciplined engineering teams from design through to construction.  Senior management experience (Executive Committee and Operations Committee). Management of contracts using NEC and FIDIC contract types. Worked in EPCM contractor environment as well as being a Client Representative (Owners Team Engineer). Experienced in greenfield & brownfield projects. Has built proficient skills and knowledge in project risk analysis and strategy formulation. Systems implementation and monitoring using information and knowledge management.  Has held multiple positions in large execution projects namely Impala 20 Shaft and Styldrift Vertical Shafts
Pieter Groenewald
Group Head of Geotechnical Services
B.Sc. Mining Engineering
Experience: 24+ years
Pieter Groenewald
Group Head of Geotechnical Services
Commodity Experience: Base metals, Precious metals, Industrial mineral, Coal
Groenewald has 24 years of professional experience in the mining, rock engineering and geotechnical fields. He has practiced as a rock engineering specialist for various mining companies, e.g. Goldfields, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold (Kalgold), Lanxess Chrome, Hernic and Tharisa; as well as some consulting companies (Middindi, Nostrada and Rhimak). He served as a researcher on several projects for the CSIR, e.g. Seismicity on Platinum Mines – Pillar Failures; Trigger response for fall of ground predictions on Platinum Mines; Stress induced fracturing around panels on deep level mining (Lead and Lag Project). His specialist skills in rock engineering, geotechnical and mining disciplines include: • non-linear plasticity based numerical codes such as UDEC-continuum assessment of safety factors using strength reduction techniques for rotational failure; • UDEC- discontinuum assessment of jointed slopes susceptible to wedge, planar and stepped-path failures; • kinematic assessments using stereographic projections; • limit-equilibrium analysis using wedge failure spreadsheets; • empirical assessments using RMR classifications; • specialist knowledge of first-pass elasticity based codes such as Minsim_W; and • solving mine design and rock engineering problems using experience, numerical models and mathematical equations. Mr. Groenewald has recently acquires additional skills in the Datamine software packages to assess geological and geotechnical conditions, using field data and incorporating it into real-time mine models to assess the impact of geological structures and geotechnical risks. His consulting experience in rock engineering, geological and geotechnical engineering involved gold, platinum, coal, base metals (copper, lead, and zinc) and diamond mines. Other project involvements included geotechnical and rock engineering for Churcha (India); Nyota Minerals (Ethiopia), Barrick (Africa), Rand Gold Resources (Mali), Lesego Coal (SA), Anglo Coal (SA), and Harmony (SA). He participated at senior level in many prefeasibility studies, feasibility studies, bankable feasibilities studies and mine closure and rehabilitation studies for various companies on various commodities including coal, copper, chrome, platinum group metals, gold, zinc, manganese and diamonds.
With a robust team of over 75 experts spread across our offices in South Africa, India, and the UAE, we bring a wealth of expertise and experience to every project. Our diverse team comprises:
Mining Subject Matter Experts
Geology Experts
Engineering Experts
Technology Specialists
Renewable Energy Specialists
Competent Financial Valuators
Project Managers
Business Analysts
Management Consultants
Business Support Team
Our team’s experience spans from 3 years to over 35 years in the industry, ensuring a deep and comprehensive understanding of various aspects of mining, consultancy, and project management. This extensive experience enables us to tackle complex challenges and deliver exceptional results. We pride ourselves on our multidisciplinary approach and our ability to provide comprehensive solutions that meet the specific needs of our clients. Whether it’s underground mining, open-pit mining, or geological analysis, our team’s collective knowledge and skills ensure the highest standards of excellence and professionalism in all our projects.