Vanguard Firmly Established As
Logistics Provider To International
Mining Houses

A record-breaking feat at Mufulira Copper Mine (MCM) Smelter in Mufulira, Zambia, along with successful projects in Mali and South Africa, has reaffirmed South African based company Vanguard’s position as a leading global heavy lifting and logistics specialist.

Vanguard successfully completed the highest non-crane assisted heavy lift on the African continent, as part of the US$173 million upgrade and reconstruction of Mufulira, using a heavy lift strand jack system and 62m gantry towers.



The project involved the erection of a 49m long, 133t cold box for the new oxygen plant at the Mufulira smelter. The cold box column is a single complete unit and therefore needed to be hoisted up as a single structure. Vanguard designed and manufactured a hook specifically for this lift. The 49m cold box was lifted, rotated 90 degrees and then lowered into its final position.

Earlier this year, Vanguard secured a bid from Randgold to install two 110 tonne ball mills at their gold mining operation in Mali. In addition to 2 strand jacks, each with a lifting force of 75t, the company used an in-house designed, engineered and constructed “light weight” gantry. Easy to dismantle and reconstruct, the use of this system resulted in significant savings in time, costs and manpower.

In another significant success for Vanguard in the mining arena, the world’s leading supplier of industrial diamonds, Element Six, contracted the logistics specialist to relocate six 130t presses from Robertsfors in Sweden to Springs, South Africa. This complex project saw Vanguard in charge of functions ranging from coordinating the most efficient route out of Sweden to moving the presses over a 100m distance through a narrow passage in the plant. This move had to be executed with great precision, as there was a margin of only 75mm on either side of the load. In addition, a 4m level difference had to be negotiated. Two independent hydraulic gantries were used - one to offload the presses, and the other to place them in position. After just 3 weeks, all six presses had been installed at Element Six.

Vanguard believes it can sustain its growth in the mining arena by relentlessly pursuing success in the demanding tasks posed by several new mining ventures throughout Africa. As the first company in South Africa to invest in strand jacks, Vanguard is committed to the continued upgrading and modernisation of its equipment fleet to ensure that its always in a position to find logistics and heavy lifting solutions to challenges as they arise. Much easier to transport and install, strand jacks offer a cost-effective, time-efficient alternative to traditional cranes, and can be linked together to achieve a lifting force of 25 x 75t, to any required height.