Pit to port and back again - a massive task

South Africa, and indeed the entire continent, is awash with mineral resources, with the mining contributing significantly to our national GDP. As a nation, mining is woven into our very fabric, with many of our cities and towns having sprung up around goldfields in the 1800s, and later on following the coal belts.

Over the last three decades, the local sector may well have shrunk, but as a whole, it is still a significant contributor to the local economy, both in terms of foreign investment and job creation. Increasing pressure on commodity prices, combined with regional economic and political uncertainty, has brought into sharp focus the need for this industry to improve efficiencies and manage costs across the board.

The nature of the South African geography, as well as location of mineral deposits, generally requires the movement of mined ore over vast distances to enable export, or indeed local use. This has created an industry heavily reliant on supply chains to not only take their product to market, but bring vital equipment to the source, and to do so effectively, cost consciously and cleanly.

According to Blake Ferguson, COO Barloworld Transport, from supply chain specialist Barloworld Logistics, smart mining houses are adopting a more holistic approach to supply chain management, driven by a need to increase competitiveness. Such approaches include a relevant mix of road transportation, road-to-rail migration, inventory optimisation, parts distribution, import/export and environmental economics to create end-to-end supply chains wholly intertwined with a mines strategic ambitions.

"Globalisation has opened up the world markets to local mineral resources and, to remain competitive, the mining supply chain needs to focus on efficiency, environmental impact and risk management," says Ferguson. "Upstream and downstream activities from an actual mine locations need to co-ordinate seamlessly to ensure the uninterrupted flow of materials in and out of the operation."

While a plethora of supply chain activity supports, such seamless operations, one, in particular, requires specialised skills. The very idea of a mine conjures up images of large equipment - excavators, trucks and heavy-duty diggers - and while such is vital to the productivity of a mine, getting them on-site is far from easy.

"Mines the world over rely on large pieces of equipment, and their transportation requires specialised handling, both within the import of such, and in road transportation. South Africa, in particular, requires expert knowledge of abnormal freight to successfully move such loads from, for example, the Durban port to mines in our northern provinces", says Ferguson. "Barloworld Transport has recently enabled large-scale deliveries for local mines, and we have been once again reminded of the immense challenge, and immense satisfaction, such deliveries bring."

The heavier or bigger the load, the more complex the delivery process. Such projects require weeks of planning, route mapping, approval from various authorities, and then finally, expert skill and indeed patience, to manage the slow but sure progress of outsized loads along our road network.

Cutting-edge safety equipment, RTMS accreditation, compliance with strict procedures and protocols, and dedicated escorts all aid in ensuring abnormal loads arrive securely at their destination.