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ISSUE No. 62 | www.bus-ex.com

alptransit:

Crossing new frontiers The creation of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA)

abraservice nederland:

Sino gringing:

portmiami:

business excellence

Business John O’Hanlon Editor johanlon@bus-ex.com Will Daynes Editor wdaynes@bus-ex.com Matt Johnson Art Director mjohnson@bus-ex.com Louise Culling Production Designer lculling@bus-ex.com Richard Turner Director of Sales rturner@bus-ex.com

Business Excellence brings you content from leading business influencers and strategic thinkers providing inspiration and guidance to help you and your business grow.

We showcase some of the best examples of successful organisations from around the world giving you a unique insight into how they operate.

Vince Kielty Director of Editorial Research vkielty@bus-ex.com Sharon Rooke Administration & Operations srooke@bus-ex.com Matt Day Head of Technology mday@bus-ex.com Andy Turner Chief Executive aturner@bus-ex.com

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George F. Brown, Jr. Consultant & Author David Sawyer President of Safer Places, Inc.

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issue No.62

6 12

6 operations

Discover what is or isn’t hiding inside the closet

Why opting for comprehensive pre-employment screenings are a worthwhile investment.

12 strategy

Branded channels, revisited The advantages of the new Internet-based branded channels are clear: additional advantages will emerge over time.

22 22 AlpTransit Gotthard AG Crossing new frontiers

Chief Construction Officer, Marco Ceriani, discusses the creation of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA), a project that has been dubbed ‘the construction of the century’.

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46

34 PortMiami

Welcome to America

Easily accessible to Caribbean and Latin American markets, as well as those of Asia and Europe by way of the Panama Canal, it is easy to see why PortMiami has earned the nickname, the Cargo Gateway of the Americas.

46 Sino Grinding

Grinding out results

Pieter Theunissen, Marketing Manager for Africa, and Mark Addison, General Manager of Sino Grinding (Americas) Inc, explain how Sino Grinding became the next global leader in grinding media and how it intends to remain as such.

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50 Abraservice Nederland More than a steel supplier

The secrets behind Abraservice’s success, the role it is playing in creating a brighter future and Abraservice Nederland’s own contributions towards local and international growth.

58 Middle Island Resources Exploring golden frontiers

Middle Island Resources Limited (MDI) is focused on gold, selecting under-explored territories within West Africa: it is not afraid of commitment, hoping to acquire a producing mine in Niger in order to consolidate its position there.

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Discover what i inside th

Why opting for compreh screenings are a wor Words by

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David C

Operations

s or isn’t hiding he closet

hensive pre-employment rthwhile investment

C. Sawyer, CPP

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I

n today’s world, where immediate access to information is literally at our fingertips, the need for speed can sometimes supersede due diligence, but in the absence of thorough background checks on potential employees, haste can result in waste – and sometimes worse.

Background screening is not a “one size fits all” situation; therefore it is imperative that employers consider the specific risks associated with each position when determining the searches and testing conducted in a pre-employment evaluation. Rule of thumb is the greater the risk involved in a particular position, the more comprehensive the background check.

Healthcare workers, for example, often have unsupervised contact with people in their vulnerable states; as such the risks associated with a “bad hire” could literally be a matter of life and death. And while drug tests have become standard for many posts – regardless of the industry – a typical 9 panel drug test may not be adequate for healthcare employees with access to a large variety of potentially addictive medications.

The financial industry is another where the more background screening done, the better. For someone whose past might involve “creative”

accounting, a position that provides access to revenue may prove to be a temptation hard to resist.

There is no such thing as being too careful when it comes to background screening and as such, at the top of the allowed list of screening sources for most employers is a search for criminal records. That said, there are a myriad of ways to search for criminal records and it is incumbent on an employer to be educated on these screening sources, regardless of whether or not they retain a firm to conduct background searches.

Significant differences exist between a national database search, a real-time county level search and a state repository investigation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages as well as considerable cost differences.

Private databases – even those that claim to be national in scope – have their limitations; in addition the prospective employer is responsible for verifying the information at the original source, which is typically the court.

The optimum place to search for a criminal record is the courthouse where the record originated. A county or federal district court search yields the most accurate and up-to-date criminal record information available and should always be used to verify results from quicker,

“Background screening is not a “one size fits all” situation; therefore it is imperative that employers consider the specific risks associated with each position when determining the searches and testing conducted in a pre-employment evaluation” 8 |

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Operations

“Having the correct identification information is vital to conducting a criminal search. People hiding a past they know might prevent them from acquiring employment can be adept at keeping a secret” but often less reliable database searches.

Hav ing the correct identification information is vital to conducting a criminal search. People hiding a past they know might prevent them from acquiring employment can be adept at keeping a secret. In fact, reporting a false date of birth may be enough to elicit a “no record found” on a report, despite the existence of a serious criminal conviction. The potential for harm is palpable if an employee becomes involved in a workplace act of violence, theft or other criminal offense because the employer didn’t have knowledge of past similar incidences.

Without question, the Internet has made the screening process inexpensive, but relying on this method could end in a costly catastrophe. Without knowing what to look for and where to find it, information can be confusing and misleading.

Obtaining a consumer report has become commonplace when conducting a background check on a prospective employee, but be advised that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),

employers must have the written consent of the potential employee before seeking the report.

If a decision is made against hiring the individual based on consumer report i n for mat ion, t he would-be employer is obligated to provide the applicant with a copy of the report and inform him/her of their right to challenge the document. Please note that some states incorporate more rigid rules limiting the use of consumer reports than does the federal FCRA. Legally obtaining accurate, up-todate information is only half the battle.

When a consumer report contains data about an arrest or criminal conviction you must keep in mind Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines when making a hiring decision. A policy that states, in essence, that an arrest or conviction is an automatic disqualifier can quickly lead to trouble with the EEOC. Policies regarding hiring (or not) those with a criminal conviction must be relevant to the position and consistent with business necessity. Thus, a recent conviction for

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Operations

“The importance of conducting comprehensive background screening cannot be overstated. Equally important is the need to fully understand how to legally apply the information contained in a background check report in the hiring decision process” DUI will likely be relevant to a pizza delivery position while perhaps not so with a cashier or receptionist job.

The EEOC updated their longstanding guidance in 2012, strongly suggesting employers take it a step further before making that final hiring decision.

Individualized Assessments are designed to allow each applicant an opportunity to explain extenuating circumstances, underscore rehabilitation efforts or point out similar employment held, post-conviction, with no undesirable consequences. It’s arguably in society’s best interest when ex-offenders are gainfully employed. That doesn’t mean a convicted thief should be hired to work as a bank teller as soon as they are released from prison. The EEOC wants to make sure that a convicted thief can find an appropriate means to earn an honest living and not be automatically branded as unemployable for life. Individualized Assessments are one means suggested by EEOC to make sure your policies are applied evenly and consistently while allowing room for hiring otherwise qualified applicants who have made mistakes in the past.

Employers can find help from various sources to stay out of the crosshairs of the Consumer Financial Protection

Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission (primary enforcers of the FCRA) as well as the EEOC. Check with a labor law attorney to make sure your policies and procedures are compliant and legally defensible. Your background check company should also be able to offer advice about legally obtaining and interpreting the information you need to make sound hiring decisions.

The importance of conducting comprehensive background screening cannot be overstated. Equally important is the need to fully understand how to legally apply the information contained in a background check report in the hiring decision process. Take the time to become familiar with the fundamentals of these vital searches, particularly if the position to be filled is one of trust and high responsibility. It is an investment in time and resources that will prove to be worthwhile.

About the author David C. Sawyer is president of Safer Places, Inc., a full-service firm based in Middleboro, Mass., that specializes in pre-employment screening, security consulting, and tenant screening. www.saferplacesinc.com

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Branded chann

The advantages of the new Int are clear: additional advan Words by

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Strategy

nels, revisited

ternet-based branded channels ntages will emerge over time

e F. Brown Jr. BE Weekly

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A

lmost twenty years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a major automotive parts supplier that was looking to significantly expand their business in the repair parts aftermarket.

They saw this as a global opportunity, and one of the assignments I had was to describe the aftermarket environment as it evolved from the then-embryonic markets of countries like China and India to the differentiated markets of southern Europe and Brazil to the highly efficient and organized markets of North America and Japan. The distinctions as you moved along those stages of evolution were indeed many. One of the important ones was a phenomenon which I called the development of “branded channels” in the most mature markets, strong and significant channel organizations (retailers, distributors, etc.) that had achieved levels of power and prominence at least the equal of the major parts manufacturers. In the North American automotive aftermarket, those organizations are familiar to most of us – companies like NAPA, Advance Auto, Pep Boys, and O’Reilly are examples.

“Branded channels” are quite different than “channel brands”. The latter have been around for a long time in most business and consumer markets, historically positioned as the “value brands” at the Good end of the GoodBetter-Best spectrum, targeting the pure price buyer. “Branded channels” are organizations that have developed abilities, attributes and associations linked to the channel itself, as opposed to the products that it sells. When

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successful, the abilities, associations and attributes linked to a branded channel heavily influence the purchase decisions of customers, much as product brand abilities, attributes and associations do.

Several years later, working with a client in the paint and coatings industry, the importance of branded channels was reinforced. As part of this project, I had lengthy meetings with senior executives in a number of the Big Box home center organizations, which had by then become a major force in the North American landscape. One of these executives used the following story to make a point: “Let’s say that next Saturday morning, as you are pouring your coffee, your wife announces that the kitchen needs to be repainted. So after some grumbling and perhaps a few extra cups of coffee, you two get into your car and shortly afterwards, pull into your local [name of his firm’s home center], or perhaps you get lost and by mistake pull into the [competitor home center] lot.

“From our perspective, at that point, as you walk into the store, you’ve made the only brand decision that will matter that

Strategy

“When successful, the abilities, associations and attributes linked to a branded channel heavily influence the purchase decisions of customers, much as product brand abilities, attributes and associations do” day. Whichever of those home centers you walked into, a short time later, you are going to push a cart with paint and other supplies out the door and load it into your car. The odds are extremely high that you will buy paint there, choosing from across the rather rich selection of options and price points that you will find available in that home center.”

My own experience and quite a bit of data accumulated across many industries leads me to conclude that he is right. Once you have made a choice of a channel, be it a retail home center as in that example or an industrial distributor or an office supplies firm or a supermarket, you are extremely likely to make your purchases there.

In discussions with clients, I often give them the following pair of statements in the context of manufacturer-channel organization interactions: 1. “You know how important our product is to you, that our products bring a lot of customers to you.”

2. “You know how important our channel is to you, that our firm attracts the customers that are candidates to buy your product.”

The former of those statements is one spoken by a manufacturing

firm executive to his counterpart in the channel organization. The latter statement is one spoken by the channel organization executive to his manufacturing firm counterpart.

In almost every manufacturer-channel relationship that I have observed, while it’s true that to some extent both statements are true at least on some occasions and for some customer segments, in the vast majority of instances, one of the two statements is far more true than the other. And that “more true” statement is the elephant in the room, the fact that dominates conversations, negotiations, pricing and margins, and relationships.

The former statement is the one that manufacturers make when their product brand is so critical to customers that it is a significant driver of their purchase decisions. Such customers will only consider channels that carry the product they favor.

The latter statement is the one that is made by channel organizations that have successfully made the transition to becoming a “branded channel”.

Their customers will choose among the products that are available from that channel organization. Years ago, I found far more instances in which the former statement was the “more true” one. Today, I find that the balance has

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Strategy

“The manufacturer knows that if a channel organization has achieved a strong branded channel position, that organization has considerable leverage in negotiations and pricing” shifted considerably towards the latter statement being the “more true” one.

While certainly not the only important factor, the concept and implications of branded channels have become in recent years important factors in both manufacturers’ channel strategy and in the competitive positioning of channel organizations. Some of the reasons for this are probably obvious from the examples above.

The manufacturer knows that if a channel organization has achieved a strong branded channel position, that organization has considerable leverage in negotiations and pricing. Even more concerning, such channels have the ability to successfully introduce other products that compete with those produced by the manufacturer. Many branded channels have in fact done so with their own channel brands and private labels, as anyone visiting a Staples or a Michaels’ can attest, and, in more and more cases, such channel brands are being introduced to compete at the “Better” and sometimes even the “Best” positions on the GoodBetter-Best spectrum.

From the channel organization’s perspective, in numerous discussions, I’ve heard long-term executives say things like “When I first took this job years ago, my positioning strategy was heavily based

on the products that we carried. We tried to build a strong product portfolio and ride on those brand coattails.

But today, all of our positioning is about us. Our in-store service. Our delivery and installation capabilities. Our convenience. Our expertise. Our price commitments. Our loyalty program. It’s all about us, and for our competitors, it’s all about them.

Times have changed.” Another familiar example of this change again draws upon the automotive industry. Not too long ago, every car ad on television or in the newspaper was product centered, communicating why a certain brand of car was the one to buy. Today, you can see a TV ad for CarMax, Auto Nation, or even some of the major “auto malls” that never mention a single make or model, that simply promote themselves as the place to go to buy your next car. Times have indeed changed.

All of the above considerations remain important factors for manufacturers and channel organizations, along the lines briefly outlined above. But my reason for including “Revisited” in the title of

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this article is that significant changes are continuing to occur that make another dimension of the “branded channel” concept one that must take center stage in the strategy decisions of both manufacturers and channel organizations.

My perspective on these changes and their significance was first motivated by the work I have done along with my colleague David Hartman on the changing competitive environment. In a series of articles, we have argued that the future competitive landscape will be dominated by firms from emerging markets like China that have learned in the middle markets of their home countries how to produce “almost-as-good products at a great price point”. Many of these firms have global ambitions, and many are finding that that competency not only enables them to gain market share at home and in other emerging markets, but that it also enables success in the developed markets of North America, Europe, and Japan. It is a global truth that there are large middle market segments everywhere that are attracted to “almost-as-good products at a great price point”. For those that aren’t yet studying the success stories of emerging market firms like Huawei, Mindray, Sany, Haier, and others, we point to the much more familiar success story of Southwest Airlines, another firm that has figured out the “almost-as-good product at a great price point” formula. We believe

that these competitors will become a dominant force in market after market for years to come, even in those industries where they haven’t yet today established a significant beachhead.

One of the factors that will determine the speed and degree of success of firms from emerging markets will be their ability to find channels to market. A few of them got a head start by becoming contract manufacturers for channel organizations, producing to spec the channel brands and private label products mentioned earlier.

More and more of them are taking steps to go beyond that position, to either establish their own product brands or to convert their relationships from contract manufacturers to legitimate suppliers of branded products.

The willingness of channel organizations to embrace such offers is a key determinant of success for such firms, and it is the branded channels that are most likely to be open to such discussions.

I offer another example from the automotive industry. For those old enough to remember, it took quite a while for Volkswagen to establish its position in North America. A bit later, Japanese carmakers like Toyota and Honda also arrived in North America, and while they were more quickly successful than Volkswagen had been, it was still a long climb. More recently, Hyundai moved at what must have appeared as lightning speed to the people from Volkswagen and

“One of the factors that will determine the speed and degree of success of firms from emerging markets will be their ability to find channels to market” 18 |

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Toyota. As in the earlier examples, there were quite a few forces at work, but I think all would agree that the ability to develop dealer channels was among the important factors in shaping Hyundai’s relatively quick success.

It was far easier for Hyundai to sell the owners of an auto mall on adding a Hyundai storefront than it was for Volkswagen or Toyota to build a dealer base in the era of “Chevy dealers” and “Ford dealers”.

The branded channels, including the auto malls in the above example, have good reason to be open to new suppliers.

They know that it is their own abilities, attributes, and associations that are driving customer purchase decisions, and that they can bring in new product brands (or substitute new product brands for ones previously carried) with relatively low risk. If those new product brands are attractive from the perspective of allowing the branded channel to make more money, they will get a hearing. And those emerging market firms that can produce “almost-as-good products at a great price point” have a very compelling story to tell to the branded channel. The existence of strong branded channels in market after market is among the reasons why we see frequent quick successes for these emerging market competitors.

But that’s just part of the equation in terms of the growing importance of branded channels. In the past, reflecting on the automotive aftermarket and painting

and coating industry examples I provided earlier, all of the players involved were in fact “part of the industry”, or, as one client commented, “were on the usual suspects list”: Sometimes such firms were new market entrants, but in most industries, the new retailers and distributors were a lot like their counterparts already in the industry. Even the Big Box home centers shared a lot of characteristics with longterm industry players like hardware stores and lumberyards. The new entrants (and some evolving long-term players) all had new value propositions that they hoped would propel them to leadership positions, and many of those that have successfully became branded channels did in fact have winning ideas about what to do differently.

That familiar faces and “usual suspects” reality has changed radically.

I think that most business executives, if asked to reflect and come up with a list of the most significant branded channels of today and tomorrow, would come up with a list that includes Amazon, eBay, Alibaba in China, and, in business markets, firms like Amazon Supply and Google

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Shopping for Suppliers. None of these firms were, for most market segments, at least until very recently, “on the list of usual suspects”. But they are now often on the short list of competitive worries for many manufacturers and channel organizations, each with a different set of concerns, but all with concerns that are rooted in the competencies and strengths of branded channels and amplified by the emergence of new firms able to produce “almost-as-good products at a great price point” that have the potential to become the partners of these branded channels, in many cases sharing a similar perspective about pricing.

Manufacturers and other suppliers contemplating meetings with these new Internet-based branded channels know that the elephant in the room will be wearing a banner reading “You know how important our channel is to you, that our firm attracts the customers that are candidates to buy your product.” This is true whether the product to be discussed

is baseball cards (2,829,297 listings on eBay, with the usual suspects (card stores and card shows) on the endangered species list) or nail guns (469 products on AmazonSupply.com vs. 95 shown in the Grainger catalog). The list of such frightening comparisons grows daily.

The power and potential of these new branded channel firms cannot be underestimated. In an earlier article, I cited examples of the appeal that these non-traditional competitors have, drawing upon learning from other market environments, seizing leadership advantages in the use of Big Data concepts, developing best-in-class logistics capabilities, developing Internet tools that offer a superior customer experience, and putting together a supplier base and business model that enables them to not only compete on price, but that in many instances denies the old adage “Better, Cheaper, Faster – Pick Any Two”. I have talked with many customers of these new branded channel competitors that have said “I didn’t have to choose, they gave me all three”. These firms are not just building upon the branded channel concept. They are in fact in many ways redefining it.

For quite some time, I have believed that the branded channel phenomenon is one that is critical to strategy and competitive positioning, for both manufacturers and

“For quite some time, I have believed that the branded channel phenomenon is one that is critical to strategy and competitive positioning, for both manufacturers and channel organizations” 20 |

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“Most of the manufacturers and channel organizations that I work with are still debating whether these new branded channel participants in their markets are friend or foe” channel organizations. My “revisited” perspective not only reinforces that belief, but raises it higher on the list of themes that must be addressed in order to ensure future success.

Most of the manufacturers and channel organizations that I work with are still debating whether these new branded channel participants in their markets are friend or foe. There are already enough examples to allow a quick answer of “both”, but I see more and more examples that fall on the foe side, despite some friendly offerings such as eBay’s stores and Amazon’s thirdparty marketplaces. Many of the foe examples that I see achieve that status by a combination of the ability of these new branded channel entrants to own end customer relationships, their out-in-front competencies in areas like Big Data and best-in-class customer experience, and their ability to win on price. In the future, I think more foe outcomes will occur as these new branded channels pair with new suppliers that offer “almost-as-good

products at a great price point”, making the price competition even more intense for the “usual suspects”. The advantages of the new Internet-based branded channels are already clear, with many examples already visible. The additional advantages that will be built upon relationships with emerging market suppliers are ones we will see more and more often in the future, rather than significant current realities.

I think that over time, examples will surface in different industries and for different customer market segments that will fall into both the friend and the foe categories, but to me, that possibility further underscores the need to figure out how these new branded channels fit into strategy and go-to-market plans, identifying those situations in which they can make a contribution to growth and profitability as a friend and those other situations in which a response is required to avoid losing badly to a powerful new foe. My advice is to put that consideration high on the planning agenda.

About the author George F. Brown, Jr. consults with industrial firms on growth strategy. He is the coauthor of CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs (Greenleaf Book Group Press of Austin, TX) and the cofounder of Blue Canyon Partners, Inc. George has published frequently on topics relating to strategy in business markets, including articles in Industry Week, Industrial Distribution, Chief Executive, Business Excellence, Employment Relations Today, iP Frontline, Industrial Engineer, Industry Today, and many others.

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Cros

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AlpTransit Gotthard AG

ssing new frontiers CEO, Marco Ceriani, discusses the creation of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA), a project that has been dubbed ‘the construction of the century’

written by: Will Daynes research by: Abi Abagun

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Construction of the railway systems building and ventilation centre at the Faido portal has been in progress since 2012

AlpTransit Gotthard AG

T

ruly a natural wonder of our planet, the Swiss Alps have been attracting tourists from across the world since long before the construction of the first hotels and mountain huts in the mid eighteenth century. This continues to this day with the Alpine area as a whole attracting some 100 million visitors each year.

The Alps themselves cover some 65 percent of Switzerland’s surface area. Looking at that statistic alone it is perfectly understandable that, since the Middle Ages, transit across the Alps has played an important role in history, and remains a key issue at a national and international level. Since the beginning of industrialisation the country has worked tirelessly to improve its transalpine network, beginning with the building of the Gotthard Rail Tunnel in 1882.

Today, construction of the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA) is creating a fast and efficient railway link with two tunnels under the Gotthard and Ceneri at its heart.

Crossing the Alps with minimal gradients and wide curves, the new railway link will stand at only 550 metres above sea level at its highest point.

The idea of a flat crossing of the Alps is nothing new, what with the first vision of a Gotthard base tunnel having been conceived in 1947, however it is the NRLA Gotthard Axis project, running from Altdorf in the north to Lugano in the south, that is creating the first flat route through the Alps. “Several key aspects characterise the AlpTransit project and differentiate it from other modern railway infrastructure

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The Gotthard Base tunnel project The sheer scope and complexity of the project are literally unprecedented. No less daunting is the job of ensuring that railway employees, train operators and dispatchers can communicate with each other deep underneath 3,000 meters of Alpine granite.

To make that happen, Alcatel-Lucent Switzerland trusted one of the premier global RF solutions providers, CommScope®.

Project parameters and objectives As the in-tunnel DAS provider, CommScope engineers were asked to design, commission and provide system integration support for the DAS solution. The technical requirements were significant. Trains must be able to connect reliably and seamlessly to the railway’s railway’s GSM (GSM-R) network—the system that allows train operators, dispatchers and in-train personnel to communicate. The DAS must also support traffic from public GSM- 900MHz and GSM-1800MHz networks, one UMTS 2100MHz network and the railway’s PMR-400MHz public safety network. The objective was to ensure accurate, precise voice and data signal handoffs while trains speed through the tunnel at up to 250 kilometers per hour.

ION-M™—the high-speed railway coverage solution ION-M™ is the heart of CommScope’s DAS solution. It is a highly customizable, advanced multi-band, multi-operator, fiber-based DAS that uses master control units connected to multiple remote repeaters via fiber optic cables.

CommScope provides proven expertise and demonstrated success Through its Andrew Solutions railway connectivity portfolio, CommScope has built an impressive resume of successful high-speed rail projects. The first Andrew Solutions distributed antenna systems (DAS) for railway tunnels were developed in the 1980s for use in the construction of the Channel Tunnel—the world’s longest underwater passage, connecting England to France. Since then, CommScope has provided critical communication networks for rail projects in Italy, Taiwan, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Russia, China and Norway.

Email: WirelessMarketingEMEA@commscope.com | www.commscope.com

PROBLEM SOLVED!

The Gotthard Base tunnel project CommScope® provides reliable DAS coverage 3,000 meters underground at 250 km/h

At times we can’t even get a strong enough cell phone signal in our own home. Imagine being asked to provide reliable, consistent signal strength for passengers speeding through the Swiss Alps at 250 kilometers per hour. That’s right, through the Alps, not over or around them.

In 1998, the Swiss government envisioned a high-speed rail line connecting the international trading hubs of Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy. Only one thing stood in the way: The Swiss Alps. The solution was a 57-kilometer subterranean rail line blasted and bored through solid rock. When it opens in 2016, the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be the world’s longest railway tunnel.

projects,” explains Chief Construction completed with the Ceneri Base Tunnel.

Officer, Marco Ceriani, “for instance the The flat route will cut 40 kilometres off the fact that it will operate with mixed traffic. former distance of 330 kilometres from Basel Passenger trains will travel through to Chiasso and has a maximum gradient of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which at 57 only 12 per thousand. That is much less than the 26 per thousand on kilometres will be the the 130-years-old existing world’s longest railway tunnel, at a maximum speed Gotthard mountain route. of 250 kilometres per hour “T he Gotthard Base and goods trains at up to Tunnel,” Ceriani continues, 160 kilometres per hour.” “consists of two single-track The Gotthard Base Tunnel tubes which are separated will go into operation in from each other but linked 2016, while three years every 325 metres by crossVisitors to the Alps each year later, in 2019, the flat route passages. In addition, two through the Alps will be mu lt i f unc t ion stat ions

100

million

Work in progress at Camorino, north of the north portal of the Ceneri Base Tunnel, includes the Lugano-Bellinzon

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AlpTransit Gotthard AG

“It is the NRLA Gotthard Axis project, running from Altdorf in the north to Lugano in the south, that is creating the first flat route through the Alps” at Sedrun and Faido divide the tunnel tubes into three sections of approximately equal length. The multifunction stations each contain an emergency-stop station for evacuation and two track-crossovers, thus allowing trains to cross over from one tube into the other. The tunnel’s maximum capacity is 50-80 passenger

na viaduct and the new underpass of the cantonal road

trains and 220-260 goods trains per day, depending on the operating regime.”

Looking back over the history of the project itself, Ceriani is quick to highlight some of the larger, and indeed more challenging undertakings that have been encountered. “One of the biggest tasks was the construction of the shaft at Sedrun, which the miners began excavating in 1996.

They started from a mountain valley in the Bündner Oberland 1,300 metres above sea level and sank a shaft 800 metres down to the level of the tunnel. From this intermediate heading, they started driving the Gotthard Base Tunnel to the north and south. The purpose of the intermediate heading was to shorten the construction time.”

It perhaps goes without saying that the final breakthrough of the project also stands out prominently in Ceriani’s mind. “This took place in the east tube on 15 October, 2010, at 2:17 pm local time, when the tunnel-boring machine travelling from Faido broke through into the Sedrun section. The breakthrough error itself was minimal, measuring only eight centimetres horizontally and one centimetre vertically, yet it marked a historic moment for not only this project, but the country as well.”

Of course, with a project of this size challenges are difficulties are inevitable.

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“What the newly constructed Gotthard route will do is make rail travel competitive with road and air travel�

In the Ceneri Base Tunnel at Sigirino, progress continues on four drives

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AlpTransit Gotthard AG One of particular note occurred during work at the Piora syncline. It is here that on the surface by the road over the Lukmanier Pass, about 1,500 metres above the level of the tunnel, there are outcrops of whitish sugary dolomitic marble. The syncline itself was thought to consist of an inverted cone of loose aquiferous material extending down to a great depth. This zone was also encountered when a 6.5-kilometres-long exploration tunnel was drilled 300 metres above the The Amsteg installations site has been level of the base tunnel. removed and is now being renatured Ceriani goes on to recount what happened next. “Sugary dolomitic marble without dolomite under high water water was encountered. The geologists put forward the pressure flooded out and hypothesis that in the 300 blocked the tunnel-boring metres height difference machine with sand. The The total length of the whitish mixture of water and between the exploration Gotthard Base Tunnel sand flowed out of the tunnel tunnel and the base tunnel, and covered the cantonal there must be a geological discontinuity. It probably road in the Leventina with a sandy layer. The media reported this with takes the form of a solidified gypsum the headline “D-day at Piora Beach” and cap that separates these two different predicted the death of the project.” formations. The entire campaign cost This was not to be of course. “The point around 100 million Swiss francs. It was where the water flowed out was successfully executed before it was known whether sealed,” Ceriani highlights. “Diagonal bores this project could be implemented and the were drilled down to the level of the base financing had been secured. Ten years later, tunnel to investigate the consistency of when actually driving, this controversial the material. Fortunately, hard, compact zone was traversed without difficulty. At

57km

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AlpTransit Gotthard AG

The points for the Sedrun multifunction station are assembled at Erstfeld before being transported into the tunnel

the level of the tunnel it was about 150 metres wide and was driven through at a speed of about ten metres per day.”

As of July 2013 structural work on the project is largely complete, with around 50 percent of the railway infrastructure systems within the Gotthard Base Tunnel having been installed. Meanwhile, in the Ceneri Base Tunnel, excavation work is in full swing, with more than 60 percent having already been cut, making AlpTransit Gotthard confident that the Ceneri Base Tunnel will be ready for scheduled train services in 2019.

Additionally, pilot operations between Faido and the south portal at Bodio will start on schedule in December 2013, making it a further important milestone on the way to the world’s longest railway tunnel becoming operational in 2016.

With strong progress being made across all areas of the project, Ceriani has a very clear view of what he expects it to bring Switzerland in terms of economic and social benefits. “Goods traffic on the north-south axis is constantly increasing and it is the goal for much of this traffic to be transferred from road to rail to protect the sensitive Alpine environment that we hold so dear. What the newly constructed Gotthard route will do is make rail travel competitive with road and air travel. This will benefit more than 20 million people in the catchment area between southern Germany and northern Italy.”

For more information about AlpTransit Gotthard AG visit: www.alptransit.ch

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PortMiami

Welcome to America It is easy to see why PortMiami has earned the nickname, the Cargo Gateway of the Americas

written by: Will Daynes research by: Adam Kalynuk

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Cruise ship at the port

PortMiami

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other Nature has shown time and again that she possesses the power to both amaze and terrify in equal measure.

Nevertheless, what we have also seen on numerous occasions in the past is that mankind has the ability to take the most disastrous of events and turn them into something positive.

Such an event occurred in the early 1900s in the south-eastern United States, when a particularly powerful hurricane struck the city of Miami. Such was the devastating force of this storm that it split the southern end of Miami Beach, creating what would become known as the Government Cut shipping channel and Fisher Island.

Shortly after the hurricane the cut was dredged creating new access to the mainland through what became known as the Main Channel. This ultimately led to a huge improvement in shipping access to the existing port. In the decades that followed the port grew in size as shipping access continued to improve and the South Florida community expanded in size and range.

It was on 5 April, 1960, that the Dade County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution No. 4830, “Joint Resolution Providing for Construction of Modern Seaport Facilities at Dodge Island Site�, which was subsequently approved by the City of Miami the following day. It was this landmark event that gave way to the construction of the new Port of Miami.

Construction of the new port, located on the artificially created Dodge Island, began shortly thereafter with the island itself also being expanded and linked to others in

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the general vicinity. The undertaking itself was a massive task, one that involved the construction of new seawalls, transit sheds, administrative buildings and a new vehicle and railroad bridge.

Today, PortMiami, as it is now officially known, is recognised as one of the busiest container ports in the United States.

Accounting for more than 207,000 jobs and with an annual economic impact in Miami of some $27 billion, the port is also referred to in the maritime sector as the “Cruise Capital of the World”, with one in seven of all the world’s cruise passengers starting their journeys at the port. Indeed, in 2010 a record 4.33 million passengers travelled through the port.

For well over two decades the port has

PortMiami

Cranes and container terminal

retained its status as the number one cruise/ passenger port in the world, accommodating the largest cruise ships in the world and the operations of many of the world’s largest lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line. In catering for such visitors the port currently operates eight passenger terminals, six gantry crane wharves, seven Ro-Ro docks, four refrigerated yards for containers, break bulk cargo warehouses

and nine gantry container handling cranes.

Retaining its competitive edge as a world-class port has not been an easy task for PortMiami and has required considerable investment over the years. In 1997 the port underwent a comprehensive redevelopment programme at a cost of more than $250 million.

As part of the programme, new ultramodern cruise terminals, roadways

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“the Port of Miami Deep Dredge project could double Miami’s cargo business in the next ten years as well as creating over 30,000 permanent jobs”

Presidant Obama’s visit to PortMiami

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PortMiami and parking garages were constructed. Additionally, a new gantry crane dock and container storage yards were introduced along with the electrification of the gantry crane docks to include the conversion of several cranes.

In addition, the Port acquired two state-of-the-art super post-panamax gantry cranes which are amongst the largest in the world and are able to load and unload 22 container (8 foot wide each), or nearly 200 foot, wide mega container ships. This development will contribute towards making it possible for PortMiami to facilitate even the future largest containerships in the world, the Maersk Triple E Class.

As we look at PortMiami today there are several major infrastructure projects relating to the port which are all scheduled to be complete by 2014. These include the Port of Miami Tunnel, the Port of Miami Deep Dredge Project and the restoration of the bridge and rail line connecting the port to the mainland.

Construction on the Miami Port Tunnel, a $1 billion project that will connect the port to other major highway arteries began in May, 2010. Meanwhile, the Port of Miami Deep Dredge project is one of considerable importance, seeing as its construction will allow Super Post-Panamax Megaships to

Aerial view of the Miami Port Tunnel

enter the United States after the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014.

With the correct funding, the Port of Miami estimates that it is capable of completing such a project by 2014. It is also estimated that this project could double Miami’s cargo business in the next ten years as well as creating over 30,000 permanent jobs for the city.

For more information about PortMiami visit: www.miamidade.gov/portmiami

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Sino Grinding

Grinding out results Pieter Theunissen, Marketing Manager for Africa, and Mark Addison, General Manager of Sino Grinding (Americas) Inc, explain how Sino Grinding became the next global leader in grinding media and how it intends to remain as such

written by: Will Daynes research by: Gareth Hardy

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SAG mill in action

Sino Grinding

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t was more than a decade ago now that Paul Peng, at the time working for another company designing his own unique grinding media, decided it was time to go it alone and set up his own business. It was this calculated determination that led the creation of Sino Grinding.

“In the early days of the business,” explains Pieter Theunissen, Marketing Manager for Africa, “it specialised in the design of grinding media for use in SAG mills. It was this somewhat niche market that Paul identified as being one that was often missed entirely by the larger grinding ball manufacturers.

What he subsequently did was design SAG mill grinding balls that could withstand high levels of impact and possessed good abrasion resistance. Upon testing these balls were found to be highly successful and it was from here that the business would go from strength to strength in the years that followed.”

Today the Sino Grinding Group of companies promotes its grinding media on a global level, providing its clients with regular on-site technical support, while proactively carrying out advanced research and development in order to bring new products to market to deal with specific problems. The group itself is made up of several companies, subsidiaries and representatives including, Sino Grinding Industries, Sino Grinding International, Beijing Sino Grinding International and Sino Grinding (Americas) Inc. Since its formation Sino Grinding’s aims, when it comes to the work it does for its clients, have centred on four main focus areas, those being the said clients’ steel

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consumption levels, the costs expended per quantity of ore milled, achieving grind by particle distribution improvements and increasing throughput levels.

“From day one,” states Mark Addison, General Manager of Sino Grinding (Americas) Inc, “we work continuously and tirelessly with our clients until we know that we have the right solutions to meet their requirements.

We are not milling specialists who provide a general purpose product to the whole industry, rather we are specialist designers and as such we work to the targets and specifications set by our customers.”

What makes such a unique approach possible is Sino Grinding’s impressive range of seven different types and grades of forged SAG grinding media. This far outnumbers the industry average which tends to see commercial grinding ball manufacturers producing no more than two types of media.

Sino Grinding’s grinding media range in size from 0.5” (13mm) up to 6.5” (165mm) and cover all different kinds of mill type.

“What our range of products allows us to do is match the environment that a customer is milling in to a particular solution,” Addison continues. “Further to this we provide technical services that including modelling the milling operations of our customers to

improve the whole process, choosing the correct grinding ball sizes and carrying out the initial ball charge calculation for the commissioning of new mills.”

One recent, and particularly impressive, example of how Sino Grinding is able to improve the grinding activities of its

“We take huge pride in the fact that we are not copiers, rather we are innovative designers” 46 | be weekly

Sino Grinding

Paul Peng listening for ball on shell impact

customers can be found in the world, where the said Zambia at First Quantum industry figures have a Minerals’ Kansanshi Mine. first-hand opportunity to Here the company has compare the products they currently use with those of assisted in halving the The size range of Sino Grinding’s grinding media Sino Grinding. operation’s consumption “During these tests,” rates of mining media in Addison highlights, “one of kilograms per tonne, thus helping it to make considerable cost savings the first things we work towards is being over an extended period of time. able to provide a recommendation of what With such successful examples already the best size of grinding ball product would visible within the marketplace Sino Grinding be for a particular potential customer, then is currently working to build upon this the selection of the Sino wide range of by conducting tests with a wide range of media grades begins. This is our starting companies and mining operators throughout point from which we can begin to modify

0.5”-6.5”

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125mm Sino-4 grinding balls in a 6.5m SAG mill

“Our wide product range, unique customer focused approach and dedication to quality has put us ahead of the game and that is where we intend to stay” said recommendation throughout the course of discussions with the customer.

Time and again we have found this to be the best way of achieving the targets and aims that we are set.”

One of the other unique qualities that Sino Grinding boasts is the fact that it uses

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a specially designed multi-hammer forging process. Much as has been the case with the chemical composition of the company’s grinding ball range, attempts have been made by competitors to replicate this process however no one has yet managed to get all the components right. “We take huge pride in

Sino Grinding

Grinding balls after use

the fact that we are not copiers, rather we are innovative designers,” Theunissen enthuses.

“Because of this we have managed to stay ahead of the curve and we estimate that we are still some years ahead of our nearest rivals when it comes to research and development.”

While Sino Grinding has always been committed to developing new products and solutions the same can’t necessarily be said about the vast majority of its competitors and this has resulted in an industry sector that, overall, has seen very little in the way of change for the last two decades. This however is something that the company expects to change in the not-too-distant future.

Examination of grinding balls

“Eventually the market as a whole will have to lift its quality levels,” Addison concludes. “This will happen slowly and while it does it is our own aim to be recognised as the go-to-guys when it comes to SAG milling and grinding ball solutions.

Our wide product range, unique customer focused approach and dedication to quality has put us ahead of the game and that is where we intend to stay.”

For more information about Sino Grinding visit: www.sinogrinding.com

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Abraservice Nederland

More than a

steel supplier COO of Abraservice Holdings, Michel Raets, and Sales Manager at Abraservice Nederland, Lars De Goede discuss the secrets behind Abraservice’s success, the role it is playing in creating a brighter future and Abraservice Nederland’s own contributions towards local and international growth

written by: Will Daynes research by: Marcus Lewis

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Lars De Goede and Michel Raets

Abraservice Nederland

A

European leader when it comes to the distribution of wear resistant and high yield strength steels, it is a hugely important belief within Abraservice that it should be seen to be more than just a supplier of such products.

Rather it has successfully fashioned itself into a specialised provider of its customers’ complete solutions, from the analysis of their needs to the supply of finished and machined parts, ready for assembly.

Part of the Jacquet Metal Service Group, Abraservice’s experience and technical knowledge ensure that it fully understands the needs of its customers and can offer support during quoting, following delivery and during service. It also acts as an advisor to the customers when it comes to selecting the right type of steel with the appropriate properties and during the processing phase.

These customers operate in a diverse range of industries and environments including power plants, yellow goods, steel production, mines and quarries, cement works, recycling, civil engineering and the chemical sector. What these environments do all have in common however is that in each of them the quality and durability of materials is paramount.

Abraservice today boasts a presence in more than ten European markets, including Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and employs over 230 people across these subsidiaries. “What makes the Netherlands a unique market to operate in is that it is a dredging country and what this inevitably means is that our focus here is on providing wear resistant and high yield steel to this

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market,” explains Lars De Goede, Sales Manager at Abraservice Nederland. “If you look at some of the core products that we sell, Creusabro for example, these are extremely well suited to this important market sector.”

Creusabro is a high performance wear resistant steel and Abraservice is the exclusive European dealer of this highly reputable metal. “The success of this product has contributed to much of our growth in recent times as we have been able to convince an increasing number of customers to switch from traditional wear resistant steels,” De Goede continues. “With an average wear resistance that is between 40 and 45 percent higher than conventional 400HB water quenched steel, Creusabro delivers these users significant cost savings over the life of use. It also lends itself extremely well to processes like bending and rolling, which is vital when it comes to its use in dredging tubes.”

Creusabro also possesses a rather special self-hardening quality that makes the product stand out from other wear resistant steels.

By being able to be delivered in a softer condition users of the steel benefit from the fact that the drilling and machining of the piece is a much easier, less time consuming activity. Once this is complete Creusabro then

reveals its last trump card in the form of its self-hardening qualities which strengthens the steel over the course of its lifetime.

Meanwhile, when it comes to high yield steels, Abraservice Nederland again supplies its customers with proven, reliable solutions that conform to international norms and standards. “Like our wear resistant steels, when it comes to high yield steels,” states COO of Abraservice Holdings, Michel Raets,

“We are always focused on the service that we provide, after all that word forms part of our name” 54 | be weekly

Abraservice Nederland

Steel cutter in action

Dredging tube

“what we are always aiming In Raets’ opinion, the to do is create higher value for reason for the continued our customers in the form of steady growth of the business things like greater mechanical is down to several core properties, bending and factors. “For starters we are Employees working for always focused on the service shaping properties and Abraservice that we provide, after all impact toughness. In doing across Europe that word forms part of our so we further differentiate name. One of the ways we ourselves and our offering from that of our competitors.” are trying to make life easier The market environment that Abraservice for our customers is by providing, where Nederland finds itself in today is undoubtedly required, the material they need complete a challenging one, defined as it is by with holes drilled and welding, bending and increased competition and record low price rolling complete. This means that what they levels. Despite these conditions the company receive from us is a product that can be used has managed to again break the mould by straight out of the box, so to speak.” recording increased tonnage growth in the Even though the company has exceeded first half of 2013 compared to 2012. all expectations when it comes to its growth,

230+

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its success does remain tied to a number of external factors, for example the level of investment in public expenditures in the Netherlands and of course the performance of the steel works industry. The existence of blast furnaces across Europe plays an important role in Abraservice’s own performance, so one can imagine the negative effect that the

closing of no fewer than twelve in 2012 had on the company.

Nevertheless, there is room for optimism within the company. “We believe,” Raets says, “that even in the face of an environment that is very fragile we our strategy of bringing added value options to our customers and exclusive products to market will result in

“Throughout the group significant work is underway to improve Abraservice’s business and to guarantee its long-term success”

Bulk handling bucket wheel

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Abraservice Nederland

Offshore guide track with rotating tower

Abraservice remaining one of few suppliers of its kind to prosper going forward.

We are certainly of the opinion that our higher levels of knowledge, experience and production capabilities place us in a much better position today than other nondifferentiated players out there.”

After a 2012 that both Raets and De Goede openly admit to being difficult for the company as a result of business levels and the need to restructure the organisation accordingly, it is pleasing to find that Abraservice today retains the full support and confidence of its shareholders, confidence that has clearly been well founded what with the company now back

in the black in terms of profits and investing massively across the organisation.

“Throughout the group,” Raets concludes, “significant work is underway to improve Abraservice’s business and to guarantee its long-term success. Perhaps what is most important to note however is that unlike many other companies out there, we are not just hoping and wishing for better times to come, rather we are taking a leading role as actors in making this future a reality.”

For more information about Abraservice Nederland visit: www.abraservice.com/nederland

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Exploring golden frontiers Middle Island Resources Limited (MDI) is focused on gold, selecting underexplored territories within West Africa: it is not afraid of commitment, hoping to acquire a producing mine in Niger in order to consolidate its position there

written by: john o’hanlon research by: robert hodgson

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Middle Island Resources

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Middle Island Resources

B

alancing risk s against and cheaply collecting geochemical samples opportunities is always a difficult from underneath shallow overburden or in call, and it is a problem that ASX places where some surface contamination is listed Middle Island Resources suspected. The augers are typically simple takes very seriously. That is petrol engine driven devices mounded at the why the company, which was established to back of a small trailer or truck, and as such are develop gold prospects in West Africa, has versatile and easily moved to the optimum site. focused on countries that have an ‘acceptable’ “They allow rapid assessment of large tracts level of sovereign risk, and in which there has of prospective terrain,” he says, “defining the been some precedent of successful mining. saprolite gold response beneath transported The company has made rapid progress or transposed soil and laterite cover.” The since its IPO in December 2010, thanks to its Middle Island executive team has been largely strong portfolio of properties and the very responsible for recognising the requirement deep and broad experience of its management for this exploration technique, and was team, led by MD Rick Yeates, responsible for introducing the first fleet of 4x4-mounted a professional geologist with 30 years of international auger rigs into West Africa experience, much of it in in 2006 to facilitate an West Africa. After periods impressive increase in the deposit discovery rate. spent at BHP Billiton, Extent of Reo property Newmont and Amax, Yeates The three countries in in Burkina Faso founded a small consulting which Middle Island operates, and contracting group, RSG, Burkina Faso, Liberia and which subsequently grew into RSG Global Niger each have their own particular issues an international business which was sold to relating conflict and deprivation, however an Australian listed group Coffey Mining in they are generally stable jurisdictions and 2006. He remained with Coffey until he took share the need to develop their resources in the step of establishing Middle Island in 2010. order to provide much needed GDP growth.

Yeates and his team believe that West They are mining-friendly countries, and Africa offers exposure to one of the best- he points out that spreading out endowed and most prospective gold terrains operations across different economies itself on earth, where new discoveries continue to mitigates the risk to investors. These are also be routinely made and new projects are being under-explored territories. developed. The rate of discovery right across Liberia is a case in point. Middle Island’s the Sahel in particular, as opposed to the rain Nuon River Project, 275 kilometres from the forests to the south, has been enhanced by capital Monrovia, is considered to represent the application of auger drilling techniques. one of the most technically prospective gold Auger drilling is a useful tool for quickly holdings in West Africa and Yeates believes

1,116 km2

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Middle Island Resources it could generate in excess foraco of two million ounces of Foraco, a global provider of drilling services to the mining gold. This substantially industry in Africa, is pleased to be partnering with Middle under-explored region of Island Resources in advancing their projects in Niger and Liberia may yet prove to Burkina Faso. host the company’s first Our equipment includes high-tech drilling rigs offering significant gold resource, reliability, performance and safety. Our staff is experienced and dedicated to the successful completion of your projects. in part because the shallow All this combined with our values of integrity, innovation dip minimises drilling and involvement has resulted in Foraco becoming the third requirements. However largest global mineral driller. it is more expensive to www.foraco.com operate there so in view of the current uncertainty in gold prices the focus has shifted to more advanced targets in Burkina Faso and Niger.

The Reo Project in Burkina Faso lies approximately 150km by road west of the capital Ouagadougou and consists of exploration permits in which Middle Island has a 100 percent interest, acquired from Newmont Mining for $2.5 million. The exploration permits collectively cover an area of 1,166 square kilometres. Between 2007 and 2010, gold mineralisation was identified

by Newmont at six main prospects, and a further volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) prospect is located to the south-east of the Bissou permit application. A further prospect, Samba, has been identified Middle Island’s own subsequent exploration.

However many may feel that the foothold Middle Island has gained in the Sirba

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“You can produce gold on site, fly it out in an aeroplane and sell it over the counter” greenstone belt of Niger is of even greater potential. The gold mined at Samira Hill since 2004 has been of strategic importance to the government of Niger, which holds a 20 percent stake in the mine. The company had been developing a number of properties in the vicinity: now it has agreed to buy out the remaining 80 percent of Samira Hill from the Canada’s Semafo for $1.25 million. This is a transformational opportunity for Middle Island, says Yeates, who predicts a life of at least eight years, with production of between

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40,000 and 50,000 ounces per annum for the first three years with further upside when the other deposits within Sirba, namely Kirba and Tialkam South, are added. However it is not yet a done deal, as Niger’s state mining company Sopamin has expressed an interest in extending its existing 20 percent to full ownership of Samira Hill.

Despite recent fluctuations in the price of gold, in the longer term it remains very strong, he and his fellow directors are convinced. “You can produce it on site, fly it out in an aeroplane

Middle Island Resources

and sell it over the counter. There is no need for expensive infrastructure, railroads, ports and so on.” That creates an ideal situation in Africa’s Savanna belt, where roads are few.

Though headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Middle Island’s primary operating base is located in Ouagadougou and is supported by small satellite offices in Niamey and Monrovia. Exploration bases and fly camps have also been established at the Reo, Nassilé and Nuon River projects. Middle Island Resources contributes up to five percent of its exploration budget each year to social development initiatives within the communities in which it operates.

This is no mere window dressing: the company insists on projects being sustainable in the long term. They must be developed

in close consultation with local communities and be consistent with their priorities. And they must be designed, implemented and managed by an experienced NGO. The first social project in partnership with French NGO, Eau Vive, provided the village of Pouni Nord near the Reo Project in Burkina Faso with drinking water, pumped by solar power. At Koutougou near the Nassilé Project in Niger the company built a school and sanitary facilities as well as a water borehole and further projects followed in Burkina Faso and Liberia.

For more information about Middle Island Resources visit: www. middleisland.com.au

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Included The BE Mining Directory showcases leading mining organisations from across the world, ranging from big corporations to junior mines and their supply chains.

Be seen throughout our portfolio of magazines: • BE Mining Directory • BE Mining • BE Weekly • BE Monthly •

To find out how to get involved contact: vincent@bus-ex.com