MINING products , processing , drying or burning . Thus , excavation is the sole element in the process . Frédéric Bouzigues adds : “ It ’ s worth remembering that at SMB we are dealing with people whose main task is logistical . We mine ( moving ores from underground to the ground ) the bauxite , load it in trucks that transport it to the ports , and from ports to boats it is transported by barges .”
With a field strength of more than 350 trucks ( e . g . HFO tank trucks , fuel tanks and cement tanks ), UMS carries out the land transport process . The West African company ’ s trucks travel via the only road leaving the mine , and transport the bauxite to the port of Katougouma . After they arrive , The Winning Group takes over the process . Winning built the river port of Katougouma with consortium funds . The harbour covers an area of 41 hectares and has four quays for the 17 bauxite boats of 8,000 tons . Winning ’ s boats ship the bauxite to China to be processed .
According to Lau , trans-shipping is a major component of the process . “ It is the world ’ s biggest transhipment system ,” he says . “ Similar standard operation models can be found in USA , Europe , Middle East , Australia and Indonesia . However , there is no match of scale .” Furthermore , the Winning Group ’ s 30 odd cape size vessels ensure ocean freight competitiveness and stability of Guinean products going to the far away PRC market .
After the bauxite arrives in China , it is finally processed into aluminum by the Wei Qiao Group .
“ In all aspects , the process is in compliance of all regulations and CSR . We do this to unlock the country ’ s mineral and river transportation worth , and for the country to fund the development of other business sectors ”
BOSCO LAU
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