The Challenge
A global resources company engaged our team to manage the expeditious shipping of a complete mine from its factory in Nantong in the Jiangsu province of China to North Queensland, Australia.
A mine consists of oversized and over-massed components, such as ball mills, semi-autogenous (SAG) mills, crushing plants, and flotation chambers, that do not allow standard road movements. The largest piece was approximately 500 cubic metres, weighing 40 tonnes.
The Solution
After significant planning, the contract was secured on an ex-works Nantong factory basis.
The team managed the required documentation and standard operating procedures, paying special attention to ensure compliance with the relevant Free Trade Agreements for duty-free importation.
Our quarantine experts ensured total compliance with Australia’s quarantine regulations, and a cleaning crew was engaged.
The equipment was loaded onto barges at the factory terminal and towed to Taicang Port, where it was transferred, lashed, and stowed on the mother vessel bound for the Port of Townsville, Australia.
On arrival at Townsville, the mine components were discharged to a dedicated lay-down area where a crawler crane loaded them onto specialised platform trailers and floats for delivery to the mine site in Cloncurry, Queensland.
The Result
Using the solution our project experts designed, the shipment of mine components was delivered in full on time. The mine currently produces 2 million tonnes of zinc annually.
