Intransigent mines won’t accept higher rates ALAN PEAT WITH AN expected 40% increase in this year’s finished copper production in Zambia, there is a minor boom in transport to-and-from that country – but with freight users unwilling to pay rates which cover the recent fuel price increases faced by road hauliers. According to Zambia’s deputy minister for finance and national planning, Felix Mutati, copper mining firms had presented new data to indicate they would still increase copper output to 550 000-tons this year from 397 000-t in 2004 –which will generate more than 60% of Zambia’s export earnings. But the mines are being a bit mean when it comes to paying freight rates which would accommodate truckers’ extra fuel costs, according to Jannie Greyling, MD of Truck Africa. “We’re certainly quite busy with a number of the mines,” he said, “but there’s an on-going dispute about them paying higher contract rates. “Diesel has gone up by 68-cents a litre in the last two months, but the mines are just not prepared to come to the party despite the boom they are currently enjoying.” Summarising the situation, Greyling added that there was lots of work available for road transporters. “But most of it at the wrong price,” he said. There’s certainly a lot more traffic, according to another road transporter who specialises in copper. “Plenty more for both road and rail,” he said. But most of the copper transport by road is on longer term contracts, he added, with little chance of increasing the freight rates in the shorter term. “Regarding the fuel surcharge,” said that transporter, “we and a couple of other road haulage operators had a meeting to discuss what we could do about it.” But, despite everyone having their say, the variation in costing ideas meant that no universal formula to calculate a fuel surcharge was reached. “Although we need one,” said the copper specialist, “there’s really a stalemate on the issue.”
