Freight companies clean up as copper mines prosper

CLIVE EMDON SUDDEN GROWTH on the Zambian copper mines has translated into lucrative construction and engineering projects for freight companies, says Adrian Friend, MD of Celtic Freight. Business growth has led to the launch of a new division – Celtic Heavies, in Durban – dedicated to project work and the handling of cargoes for new plant projects that are shipped in by sea and transported by road to Zambia. In addition to its 70 trucks used for its Zambian freight business, Celtic is buying three new trailers and has two stepdecks and a heavy duty loader on order to handle the demand. The company employs Zambian drivers. “We do a lot of project work,” says Friend. “This includes moving cranes for handling containers on site at the Lumwana Mine in the North Western province of Zambia.” One of the projects involved unpacking open top trucks and flat racks containing boilers and furnaces and repacking them for loading on flatbed trailers. Another saw the movement of 40 FEUs of equipment and plant from China to Zambia. Return loads from Zambia carry copper for China loaded though Durban. Celtic’s general manager for Durban, Kobus Marais, was recently in Botswana and Namibia exploring routes for abnormal loads because of the delays on the escarpment at Chirundu.