Grindrod is assisting in the movement of one of Mozambique’s newest exports, graphite, which is mined in the north of the country and is exported through the port of Nacala.
“We are responsible for packing containers to order from five different grades of bagged product,” says Sturrock Grindrod Maritime (SGM) national operations manager Alan Bremner. The first shipment of graphite arrived at the purpose-built Grindrod Integrated Logistics (GIL) facility in Nacala on June 8.
The facility includes a 10 000- sqm warehouse, a 30 000-sqm container yard, a transport yard, a workshop for servicing equipment, fuelling facilities and a canteen and change rooms for staff. Equipment on site includes seven forklifts for cargo handling and a stacker for empty and full containers. GIL has also invested in a fleet of 50 Scania trucks which will operate the long haul leg of the operation.
The contract was awarded to Grindrod in 2017 by the Syrah Resources mine at Balama in the Cabo Delgado province and is described by Syrah as “the world’s largest graphite resource”. Key services offered by GIL include long-haul transport from the mine to the warehouse in Nacala, as well as storage and containerisation of the product.
SGM is responsible for customs clearance services and the shorthaul transport of the laden containers into the port. At full production, Grindrod will be containerising 30 000 tons of bagged graphite per month, according to Bremner.
