July 26 - DHL Global Forwarding has entered into a three-year global freight forwarding agreement with Madagascan mining enterprise Ambatovy - a joint venture between Sherritt International Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation and Korea Resources Corporation
At full capacity, the Ambatovy mine in Madagascar is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes of refined nickel, 5,600 tonnes of refined cobalt and 210,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate fertiliser annually.
The agreement comprises two contracts, which will see DHL Industrial Projects provide both onshore and offshore logistics services for the huge mining project.
Onshore, DHL will be responsible for providing import Customs clearance for airfreight shipments of spare parts into Madagascar, with delivery to the Ambatovy mine site from Antananarivo to Moramanga and to the plant at Toamasina through daily shuttle services.
DHL's offshore services will include international air and ocean freight for the import of mining equipment to support Ambatovy's production. The cargoes will be consolidated at DHL's hubs in Houston, USA; Montreal, Canada; Antwerp, Belgium; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Shanghai, China.
The partnership will also give Ambatovy access to the DHL Material Management System (MMS), which the multinational says will provide the Madagascan mining enterprise with real-time visibility of its shipments during the move.
"This agreement is especially meaningful as it enables DHL to help Ambatovy manage its supply chain in order to sustain its operations in Madagascar," said Nikola Hagleitner, ceo of Industrial Projects at DHL Global Forwarding.
"Our partnership will enable Ambatovy to tap into our global expertise in project forwarding, and extensive network spanning over 220 countries and territories - enabling us to operate efficiently even in challenging and remote locations, and more importantly, facilitate global trade flows and the development of infrastructure globally."
