Tara, which MMP dubbed "the Autotrader for South African mining equipment" for the industry, was developed because of a lack of a central database of the offerings of OEMs, it said. Additionally, it wanted to help show the companies' capabilities and provide needed specifications of equipment and technologies to interested parties.

Specifically, the groups said Tara's objectives are to provide the mining industry with access to the capabilities and offerings of local OEMs; to provide specification and state of readiness of technologies and equipment offered by local OEMs; to create a platform for local suppliers and products to access the local mining supply chain; to provide researchers with information catalogues about available products; and validation of equipment specifications as claimed by the OEM.

"TARA links mining houses to local OEMs and provides a window into local offerings,
MMP officials said. The agency was funded for the project by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the Minerals Council.

"OEMs are able to independently upload equipment data according to set data fields, which are currently limited to stoping and development cycle activities pertaining to drilling, blasting, cleaning and supporting."

There are plans to build future versions of the platform that will include shaft sinking and technical services.

TARA is accessible here. It is available to OEMs that are also members of Memsa.