Seaport assessed rail, trucking, and maritime logistics alternatives for a new copper mining venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as sub-consultants to Morrison - Knudsen.  This included the investigation of various rail and road options linking the mine site in central Africa with regional ports on Africa’s east and southeast coasts, primarily:

• Mombasa
• Dar Es Salaam
• Beira
• Maputo
• Richards Bay
• Durban

Seaport analyzed alternative routes and modes, the capacity, performance, and handling charges at each port, and determined likely ocean shipping rates from those ports to major copper importing regions and from international sources of consumables back to the mine.  Trucking was considered as an alternative to rail for product exports and as a primary option for various inbound consumables and project cargoes.  Seaport also analyzed backhaul sulfur moving to the Congo by a combination of rail and truck, coming largely from South Africa.  The backhaul analysis led to the conceptual design of a specialized ocean container capable of handling copper cathodes in one direction and bulk prilled sulfur in the other direction.  Safety and ventilation requirements for sulfur transport were researched and findings incorporated in the container conceptual design.

 For each carrier, Seaport investigated among other factors: 

• Costs
• Transit times and predictability
• Fleet condition
• Maintenance
• Traffic base and likely growth or change
• Financials
• Safety and security

 At each port, Seaport analyzed among other factors: 

• Costs
• Terminal characteristics
• Productivity
• Equipment condition and maintenance
• Port access by road and rail
• Vessels handled and lines served
• Dredging and navigational improvements needed
• Traffic base and likely growth or change
• Safety and security

Seaport identified strengths and weaknesses in the various transport systems, evaluated carriers, determined likely costs for a variety of alternatives and recommended logistics strategies for the mine’s transport operations. This analysis was followed by the drafting of pro-forma contracts for transport and port services.