Minelab has officially opened the Minelab MEA General Trading LLC facility in Dubai, representing a major strategic advancement for the ‘Gold’ division of its worldwide business.
The significant US$2 million investment by Minelab recognises Dubai as a key hub for its ‘Gold’ business into the Middle East and Africa. The move will enable Minelab to support the efforts of its dealership network, including its education-based anti-counterfeit strategy.
Minelab has been committed to the artisanal small scale miners of Africa through its Dubai network of authorised dealers for a number of years. As a result of a boom in small scale mining activity and the significant success of genuine Minelab gold detection product, counterfeit manufacturers are known to target artisanal gold mining communities by illegally producing counterfeit mining products. The most recent finds of counterfeit products were in excess of US$10 million:
- June 2013, counterfeit Minelab product with a potential market value of AED5.9 million (US $1.6 million) was seized from an apartment complex operating as a makeshift ‘factory’
- August 2014, a record breaking seizure of counterfeit Minelab product with a potential market value of AED35.6 million (US $9.7 million) was conducted in Ajman
A recent police operation in Dubai that led to a significant find of counterfeit Minelab equipment, reaffirms the organisation’s belief that Dubai is the best location for the new store and will help ensure the protection of customer interests by safeguarding the authenticity of Minelab products and brands.
The new store in Dubai will act as a regional base and a well-connected transit hub for the movement of Minelab people and products across Africa, ensuring access and availability to Minelab customers.
Peter Charlesworth, General Manager, Minelab Electronics Pty. Ltd., stated: “This new facility is an exciting strategic development for our business. We look forward to working closely with our excellent network based in Dubai, welcoming our Middle East and African customers to our new facility and meeting them in the field while building on the tremendous success of our anti counterfeit campaigns with the support of the Dubai Department of Economic Development and Dubai Police.”
Our customers have experienced a massive success using our innovative, high performance products including:
- Three kilogram nugget valued at almost US $100,000 in Libya
- 280 gram nugget in the Ivory Coast
- 1.8 kilogram nugget discovered in Burkina Faso
Gold prospectors, small-scale miners, distributors and dealers are invited to the opening of the retail until at Unit S-1, Humaid Sultan Building, Al Murar, Deira, Dubai, PO Box 6934, Dubai, for the official launch and opening of Minelab MEA General Trading LLC on Sunday 25th January from 12 noon to 4.00pm
