ANALYSISMINING
Agrowingdemandforflexibility
wo general trends in the global
T
mining industry are further fuelling
TransProject ships shell
sections for a ball and sag
customer demands for ever-greater
mill, which grinds up rock
flexibility from the sector’s project
to extract minerals.
cargo forwarders and carriers.
The first – and one which was significantly
boosted by the slowdown in mining activity in
late 2008/early 2009 – has been an increase in
the volume of redundant mining equipment
being relocated by multinational mining groups,
or sold to buyers from all over the world.
“We are seeing used mining equipment
such as draglines being moved into the
developing countries of South America and
elsewhere because of decreased demand for
that sort of heavy equipment in regions such
as North America,” confirmed Jan Otto,
senior project manager with TransProject, the
heavy project logistics division of US-based
TransGroup Worldwide Logistics.
“Meanwhile, in the CIS region,
particularly Russia, Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan where we have historically
done a lot of mining project work, a lack of
capital investment in new plant and
equipment is resulting in a lot of spare parts,
refurbished machinery, and so on being
moved around.”
Gold mine
An example of a major project logistics
operation involving the movement of used
mining equipment was provided by
Kazakhstan-based logistics group Globalink.
An Alstom cargo being
Ainur Sapargali, the company’s corporate
moved by TransProject.
marketing manager, sales and marketing
department, said the Globalink office in
Yerevan, Armenia, had been employed to this project, for the final journey to Durban.” forwarding service providers. Some of that
manage the movement of three giant drilling The second trend currently exacerbating equipment can also be in relatively small
rigs from a gold mine located in one of the the mining industry’s need for more flexible volumes, making it more difficult for forwarders
most remote areas of that country back to the logistics services is a continuing growth of to cost-effectively charter or part-charter vessels
equipment’s owners in South Africa. operations in countries which have to date not to move the cargo or scheduled shipping
“The journey – 180 km to the Georgian been major centres of such activity. One operators to accommodate it.
border with an additional 350 km to the Black current example highlighted by Wallenius “Mining industry equipment is moving
Sea port of Poti, Georgia, – was not the Wilhelmsen Logistics’ (WWL) Global Market to different places than in the past,”
longest distance we have handled, but the Intelligence Unit is Mongolia. “The country confirmed Odd Egil Borgen, global
geographical layout of the region (extremely has opened itself up for large-scale mining and specialist in breakbulk and project cargoes
hilly with narrow roads) and weather mineral development in recent months after for WWL. “We are seeing more ad hoc
conditions (in the dead of winter with snow years of debate and infighting about its business which comes out of the blue and
everywhere) certainly made this one of the investment regime.” requires us to re-route vessels away from the
most challenging projects undertaken,” she Both trends have led to a growing demand typical liner service pattern we operate. All
said. “Upon arrival at Poti, our Georgia office for mining industry equipment movements to that means we need to be more flexible than
supervised the unloading of the rigs at the port points which might not previously have been on in the past in order to meet mining industry
and the loading onto the vessel, chartered for the radar of the sector’s heavy lift and project requirements.” HLPFI
www.heavyliftpfi.com March/April 2010 67
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