this is a story on a similar company, botash (botswana ash) whose operations are based in sua pan. The issue for them is the cost of transport
Botash aims to double revenue
Mphathi further revealed that Botash intends to optimize the existing supply chain and design market strategies with logistics channels in mind. However, he raised concerns about the high transportation costs that the company has to grapple with, which end up eating into its bottom line. Botash transports salt and soda ash products to its market throughout Africa using rail. Botswana Railways also transports coal from Morupule mine to Sua Pan. Mphathi said they have been in earnest talks with Botswana Railways with a view to reducing the costs of production, especially since fuel prices have been gradually decreasing over the last few months.
“We spend about P300 million on transport every year. To demonstrate the crippling costs of transport, I can tell you that more than half of the landed cost of coal used in out plant is attributed directly to transport,” he said.
Botash currently produces 300 000 tonnes of soda ash and 650 000 tonnes of salt per annum. The mine boasts of an OHSAS 18001 certification for safety, ISO 14001 certification for environmental awareness and ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality. Botash is currently the leading supplier of soda ash and industrial salt in southern Africa, with a staff complement of 452 employees mostly in the engineering and operations department. South Africa buys 47 percent of Botash products, followed by Zambia with 24 percent, Zimbabwe 16 percent, Malawi seven percent, Botswana four percent and DRC two percent.