About Us
A South African chrome producer built for global supply.
Founded by operators who know that chrome is won as much in the haul cycle as at the wash plant — we control the chain end to end.
Vel Mining is a proud member of the Vel Holdings Group — establishing operations across two complementary streams: open cast mining of run-of-mine (ROM) chrome ore in the Mooinoi region, and a beneficiation wash plant that upgrades that ROM into a 40–42% Cr₂O₃ concentrate suitable for international foundry and ferrochrome customers.
Phase 1 of the wash plant is commissioned at 50–60 tons per hour, with a Phase 2 expansion scheduled in the next 3–4 months to take throughput to 100 tons per hour.
We are intentionally vertically integrated. A sister logistics company operates a side-tipper fleet purpose-built for chrome haulage — meaning the same team that mines and beneficiates your concentrate is the team that delivers it to the rail siding or port. The result is a tighter, more accountable supply chain for buyers.
On the Ground
Operators, not spectators.
Our leadership is on site — alongside the contractors, fabricators, and plant crew building Mooinoi seam by seam. Every decision is made within earshot of the spirals.
Leadership
Jared Govender
Founder & Managing Director
Jared Govender is an engineer, industrial strategist, and the vision behind Vel Mining. Armed with a foundational background in engineering, Jared approaches the commodities and extractive sectors through a lens of strict technical efficiency, first-principles logic, and aggressive operational optimization.
As Founder and Managing Director, he leads Vel Mining’s strategic expansion across sub-Saharan Africa — spearheading high-yield gold ventures in West Africa alongside heavy industrial chrome processing and bulk commodity logistics operations within South Africa. Jared specializes in taking complex, capital-intensive infrastructure projects from raw concept to high-efficiency execution, ensuring every vertical under the Vel umbrella operates at peak technical and financial standard.
Driven by a commitment to operational excellence and technological integration, Jared is focused on building a resilient, vertically integrated industrial legacy that moves African resources with world-class efficiency.
John Meyer
Chief Operations Officer
John Meyer brings over 22 years of hands-on experience across the mining, engineering, and petrochemical industries — with deep specialisation in the chrome processing sector. As Chief Operations Officer, he leads Vel Mining’s plant operations, process optimisation, and production performance from the ground up.
John has personally owned and operated three chrome wash plants, and over the last two decades has designed, built, commissioned, and optimised more than eight chrome wash plants across South Africa. That practical track record gives him a rare, end-to-end command of plant construction, throughput efficiency, yield recovery, and commercial performance — the exact disciplines that define Vel’s Mooinoi operation.
His career spans underground mining contract management, asset recovery projects, and operational leadership across the platinum, gold, and chrome sectors — including long-standing relationships with major mining houses such as Anglo Platinum. He is equally comfortable negotiating at executive level and standing on a plant floor solving a process bottleneck.
A natural leader, John is service-oriented, decisive, and thrives in demanding remote environments. He views every challenge as an opportunity — a mindset shaped by personal resilience and a relentless focus on delivering measurable results for Vel Mining’s customers, partners, and team.