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.  This significant US $2m investment 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 excellent dealership network, including its education-based anti-counterfeit strategy.

Mr. Peter Charlesworth, President and General Manager of Minelab Electronics Pty Ltd with Mr. Ibrahim Askar Ismail Al Asker and the Minelab team officially opening the new facility.

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 $10m:

• June 2013, counterfeit Minelab product with a potential market value of AED5.9million (US $1.6m) 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 AED35.6million (US $9.7m) was conducted in Ajman

A recent police operation in Dubai that lead 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.”

Mr. Peter Charlesworth delivering the keynote address at the opening event

Our customers have experienced a massive success using our innovative, high performance products including:

• 3kg nugget valued at almost US $100,000 in Libya
• 280g nugget in the Ivory Coast
• 1.8kg 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 25^th January from 12 noon to 4.00pm

Mr. Peter Charlesworth, President and General Manager of Minelab Electronics Pty Ltd., and Mr. Mark Wellington General Manager of the new Minelab MEA General Trading LLC facility with the GPX5000 and SDC2300 gold detection products.