***** ALERT: “HIDROTECH INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIERS” & **** Lumwana Mine Contact – Procurement **** Targeting South African Companies

***** ALERT: “HIDROTECH INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIERS” & **** Lumwana Mine Contact – Procurement **** Targeting South African Companies

Our company was recently targeted by an organised procurement ***** syndicate using the names:

❌ **** Supplier:

Hidrotech Industrial Suppliers Contact used: Quinton Vutha (Sales Manager) Email: ***

WhatsApp: *** Phone: *** Website used: www.hdts.co.za (appears legitimate but used in a ****)

❌ **** Mining Contact (Impersonating Barrick Lumwana):

“Nathan Chishimba (Operations Manager)” Email: *** (*****ulent) Zambian numbers used: +***09, +***69

The ****mers sent us a **** purchase order claiming to be from Lumwana Mine in Zambia, using cloned formatting and official branding to appear legitimate. The order included a very specific item:

👉 Hermann TRT600 Heavy Duty Pump (They use this model as a trigger for the **** — important keyword for searchers.)

After receiving the PO, we were directed to “Hidrotech Industrial Suppliers” as the “approved vendor.” This supplier then issued an invoice with an ABSA bank account, and payment was made before the ***** was discovered.

🚩 Key red flags that only became clear afterwards:

The HERMANN TRT600 pump does not exist on any verified OEM databases.

The supplier’s bank account holder could not be verified by the bank.

The mine confirmed these individuals do not work for Lumwana or Barrick.

The entire setup — PO, supplier, product — was part of a coordinated ****.

❗ To protect others

I am posting this so that ANYONE searching the following terms will see this warning:

HERMANN TRT600 pump

Hermann heavy duty pump South Africa

Hidrotech Industrial Suppliers

Quinton Vutha

Nathan Chishimba Lumwana

lumwanamining.com ****

hdts.co.za ****

HERMANN pump supplier South Africa

Mining procurement ****

**** PO pump ****

ABSA Account *** *****

If you come across a purchase order asking for a HERMANN TRT600 Heavy Duty Pump or directing you to “Hidrotech Industrial Suppliers,” STOP immediately — this is a ***** operation.

We have reported the case to:

FNB ***** Division

ABSA *****

SAPS Commercial Crimes Unit

Barrick Lumwana Corporate Security

I am posting this to ensure no other business loses money to the same setup.