The Freight Forwarding and Logistics scope included the management and planning of the entire logistical requirements and extended to foodstuffs, luxuries and supplies for the project personnel.
Sourcing of plant, equipment and raw material was done internationally and required the coordination of both conventional and unconventional cargo. Apart from employing the service of regular containerised vessels, we had to negotiate with owners of bulk carriers as well as charter companies. Numerous charter agreements were negotiated, not only for sea but also for airfreight. It took 3 months of intensive planning and route surveying before movement could take place.
A total of 57000 tons of cargo from all over the globe was moved to the remote site in Mali. This included a number of abnormal pieces such as the two ball mills. The mill shells measured 5.5m in diameter and 8m in length, and weighed 103 tons each. Transported from Duncanville in Vereeniging and shipped via the ports of Richards Bay, South Africa to Dakar, Senegal, these were transported 1000km west to the Loulo Mine site in Mali.
As a result of the successful execution of the project over a 2 year period, a further phase was awarded to the project team.