Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/131325
O P E R AT I N G S T R AT E G I E S In Russia, GeoProMining announced just a few weeks ago that it had opened its winter road connecting the company's Sentachan gold-antimony mine in Yakutia with a main highway. But, according to the company, this winter has been relatively mild and weather conditions have shifted often and rapidly, adding complications to the process of constructing the road. With northern parts of Russia historically experiencing temperatures below -67°F (-55°C), the road typically goes into service from February until April, meandering along the frozen beds of the Elgi and Adycha rivers. It is the only ground-based transportation access to the mine, located 700 km from the nearest town; the rest of the year the mine can be reached only by helicopter. The road is used to transport ore and to supply the mine with diesel fuel and other materials necessary for the next production season. Meeting Site Requirements Whatever window of opportunity the weather allows, both operators and suppliers of remote sites must be attuned to planning and scheduling deliveries to keep everything running. Minerals processing and materials handling equipment supplier FLSmidth Ludowici, for instance, recently www.e-mj.com reported that it depends on another set of ice truckers to ensure delivery of its products to Russian customers during the limited time available in the winter months. Robert Mold, FLSmidth Ludowici's sales and marketing manager, explained, "Basically, the [shipments] need some major organizing to get payment, production and logistics sorted so our products can get there on time. The delivery windows are very tight as it really is 'ice truckers' taking the goods in while the region is frozen. "Wayne Horn, our fire assay product manager and our local agent in Russia, works with customers and our manufacturing plant in China to get our fire assay crucibles to customers in the northern reaches of Russia. It has been extremely beneficial having a local agent, as he speaks the language and understands the country's culture and customs, as well as being familiar with remote locations and most feasible modes of transport," said Mold. "One Russian customer orders three to five containers of fire assay crucibles annually. These need to be delivered in one shipment, during their winter months, as the trucks need to travel on the ice. During the warmer months, the ice is too soft, which makes it difficult for transporting goods via road. It is critical that the order is received well in advance so there is sufficient time for the goods to be manufactured, payment received to ensure the goods can be released, and then be transported to and around Russia before the ice starts to soften," said Mold. The team has worked hard to secure a purchase order with our Russian customers," Horn said. Even a repeat [order] requires at least 30–50 emails to close the deal. A great deal of time and effort is required to negotiate and confirm terms of payment and delivery times, especially because the goods are required to leave China around Christmas/Chinese New Year time, when transport companies are extremely busy or closed. "We have secured repeat orders for a number of years. These [circumstances] may be considered too difficult to deal with by competitors, as it takes so long (up to a month of negotiations) to secure an order, with many suppliers not closing the deal," Horn said. What Workers Need Whether a mine site is in a remote Northern or Southern Hemisphere location, there are certain factors beyond minimal shelter and APRIL 2013 • E&MJ; 139