A month after investing more than $20 million in the creation of an outlet at Port Kaituma, North West District to serve the mining community, local Caterpillar distributor Macorp estimates that the new outpost could result in significant savings to miners.
“When account is taken of the down time associated with getting to Georgetown to acquire spares for non-functioning equipment and moving that equipment into the interior we estimate that the Port Kaituma outlet could save the miners as much as 50 per cent,” Macorp Parts Manager Asif Shahid told Stabroek Business in an interview earlier this week.
Noting that the value of key spares had to be measured in costs that go beyond their actual monetary value, Shahid said that what Macorp had done was to remove the logistical burden associated with miners accessing the parts they needed to ensure that smooth running of their operations. He said that apart from setting up the outlet at Port Kaituma, Macorp had also taken on the far more demanding task on moving the parts into the interior. This task, he said, could be “quite a challenge” when account is taken of all of the considerations associated with moving goods into the interior.
Shahid said the sustained opening up of the gold mining industry meant that inevitably transportation facilities would have to be enhanced.
Shahid, noting that the launch had coincided with the start of the Christmas holidays, said demand was likely to pick up after more mining operations resumed work towards the end of this month.
At last month’s opening ceremony Macorp Chief Executive Officer Jorge Medina had said that the company was seeking to provide “integrated solutions” for the local mining sector.
Shahid told Stabroek Business that the company would focus on that approach in its relationship with the mining community.
Meanwhile, Shahid said that the company’s stock of parts at its Port Kaituma facility took account of preventative maintenance as well as larger pieces of equipment including undercarriages. He said that while the company would naturally be targeting Caterpillar equipment, other brands of mining equipment would also benefit from the availability of Caterpillar spares.
And Shahid said Macorp had every intention of being a socially responsible corporate entity in the Port Kaituma community. He said the company had already repaired sections of the fence in the vicinity of the airstrip and erected a new waiting shed.
