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Johannesburg-based Nucleus Mining & Africa Logistics
is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2019. From humble
beginnings, the company has grown organically to become
one of the most recognised and respected logistical
solutions providers on the African continent. Since day For chief executive Iain Clark, Nucleus has won respect and While Nucleus has traditionally focused on regions it knows well, the
one, the focus has always been on improving a customer’s recognition in the industry for maintaining a customer-first company welcomes all opportunities to expand its presence into new
competitive edge and their bottom line by continuously approach over the past 15 years, particular in more recent jurisdictions and its capabilities to new customers.
times when construction and development costs have been
“It’s about engaging with the right people in the right areas and where
adding value wherever possible. heavily scrutinised. we don’t have our own people we have got very good partners who
“We’re still a medium-sized business, but we compete in the market we can work with,” Clark said.
with the multinationals for projects, which is a real feather in our cap “That’s the key to working in Africa, making sure that you have the
that people see us in the same category as those huge multinationals,” right people on the ground to give you the relevant feedback on any
Clark said. potential changes to requirements for importation, for example.
“There are a number of benefits in dealing with a business of our size. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve probably become a lot more reliant
We are lucky enough that we can make decisions immediately and we on modern technology in terms of warehousing systems and track-
don’t have to go through board meetings to get decisions on what we ing interfaces for our customers. We’ve really stepped up our IT side
can and can’t do. We are still an owner-managed business. which I think is a really important part of where logistics is going.”
“We engage at all levels with our customers through having open dis- If there is one thing which Clark looks back on with more fondness
cussions. We like to work very closely with our customers in terms than anything else from the last 15 years it is the fact Nucleus has es-
of both pricing and strategy. We don’t have a fixed formula. How we sentially grown from “word of mouth”.
put our operations together is based purely on individual projects and “Often the suppliers and service providers to the mines we deal with
what their needs are.” come back to us and ask if we can help them in other areas,” Clark said.
While headquartered in South Africa, Nucleus has offices in Zambia, “We have had mostly organic growth from the mines we deal with
Mozambique and the DRC where the majority of its business come where out of 50 different suppliers, many of them come back to us
from. The company specialises in offering logistics solutions services seeking help with logistics into Tanzania or elsewhere. I see that as be-
for both the construction and operational aspects of a mine. ing quite a positive outcome for our business.
Earlier this year, Nucleus signed off on a full logistics programme for “We still very much believe in personal relationships. Africa is a big
the construction of Alphamin Resources Corp’s Bisie tin mine, north- place and there are many big multinational mining companies and ser-
eastern DRC. Finalisation of this contract took place while the country vice providers that operate there, many of whom operate in multiple
was undergoing major changes in government, including the election regions and projects. Nucleus offers high service levels and cost effec-
of a new president. tive logistics solutions.
Clark believes the contract was not impacted by the elections due to “Our business has grown substantially by word of mouth and industry
the ground work his company has put in place over several years. recommendations and we’re very proud of that.”
“In many African countries, the lay of the land changes constantly and
you’ve got to be aware of these situations and how they could poten-
tially affect you and your clients,” Clark said.
“We always strive to be ahead of the game. We get involved with pro-
jects sometimes 2-3 years before we start moving anything in country.
That’s why we try to work with our clients to understand their lo-
gistics needs right from day one when they’re still doing exploration
drilling out of small camps.
“So, by the time we’re moving thousands of tonnes into a particular
area, we’ve got the whole route planned, we know the area, we know
who the contacts are in the region and we even have our own logistics
manager out on the ground as well.”
Exposure to a number of logistics projects in key markets appears to Contact us
have prepared Nucleus for what has already been a busy year to date.
On top of completing work at Bisie, the company has been pressing
ahead with long-term project contracts and operational mines in the Stand 208B, Corner Malibongwe Drive
DRC and moving operational loads into Mozambique via the Balama and Ebsom Ave, Boundary Park, Northriding,
graphite mine where required. Johannesburg
Tel +27 (0)11 0281181
Clark is optimistic the company will add further projects to its broad Email info@nucleusml.co.za
scope of work over the coming months as sentiment continues to re-
turn to the African resources sector, especially from a construction www.nucleusml.co.za
perspective.