The first ever mining sector Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO) has launched to initially serve the Canadian mining market. Founders Lee Barter and Ben-Schoeman Geldenhuys are industry veterans who bring decades of mining supply chain experience from across the globe to this new venture. Specialising in mining procurement, Tamarack it says will be the first to develop a member-based group purchasing structure to increase the profitability of intermediate and junior miners. Similar buying groups have been shown to create substantial cost savings for buyers in the healthcare, government and hospitality sectors. With Tamarack, mid-tier mining companies can access the benefits of volume-based pricing typically obtainable only by the global mining giants.
“Unlocking savings that can improve our all in sustaining costs is, without a doubt, of great benefit to our industry. We want to put ourselves on an even cost footing with senior miners and look forward to working with Tamarack to accomplish this,” said Duncan Middlemiss, CEO of Wesdome Gold Mines, an early member of Tamarack.
Tamarack will also benefit local mining supply businesses. Tamarack’s entrance into the market will introduce efficiencies in the supplier space, delivering more customers and larger volume purchases to the local mining ecosystem. “We are partners in our communities – we facilitate supplier and buyer relationships and are proud to bring additional value to the industry,” explained Co-Founder, Lee Barter.
Co-Founder Ben-Schoeman Geldenhuys explained that Tamarack is off to a great start. “We have been well received in the industry and the number of members who have joined the consortium has far exceeded our expectations. We didn’t expect to have more than a billion in annual procurement spend from our initial membership drive – such a strong initial showing demonstrates how much this type of service was missing from the sector, and we are ready to deliver.”
“I’ve worked with the Tamarack team at mines in Peru, Argentina and the US. Lee and his team have consistently produced significant AISC savings, even in technically demanding procurement categories. The key differentiator is how they work with the mining operations teams to find value, without compromising supplier quality and safety performance,” said James Wittaker, Executive General Manager, Haile Gold Mine, part of OceanaGold Corp.
