Services

Marketing & Sales

How many dollars has your company left on the table?

In our experience, a significant proportion of mining companies focus almost entirely on production. Their goal is to maximise production in a safe manner, and to do it for the lowest possible cost. Once the finished product is on the ground then the real job is considered done. A few weeks later money turns up in the account.

Clearly it is critical to the success of a mine to maximise safe production for lowest possible cost.

Where Conrad Partners can you help you is to maximise your revenue.

We have personally seen examples of miners leaving more than $1Million on the table in the sale of a single 10,000 DMT concentrate parcel. Although the miners were completely happy with their return, they were ignorant of how much value they had relinquished.

Our extensive knowledge of pricing strategies, contractual blind spots, freight and logistics, weighing, sampling and assaying in combination with a strong knowledge of current market conditions and our relationships with traders, smelters and other downstream processors, ensures that we can maximise your revenue stream. A key component of maximising your revenue stream is through addressing transaction losses.

Contact us now to discuss how we can help you market your production to give you maximum revenue.

Logistics & Shipping

Are you receiving an address commission?

Road, rail and ship. Conrad work with your production and supply teams to coordinate and maintain schedules to optimise the logistics process. Shipment size, type, frequency, warehousing, regulatory requirements and weather factors all need to be considered in conjunction with pricing.

Having shipped millions of tonnes of product, we understand what needs to be done.

Contact us now to discuss how we can help you optimise your product logistics chain.

Contract Negotiation

You can’t afford to get this wrong.

A commodity sales contract contains commercial, technical, legal and risk components. Most companies have an agreed framework for legal and risk components. In our experience, many contracts do not have the same level of rigour applied to the commercial and technical clauses.

With a team that has hands-on experience in mining, production, marketing, trading and smelting, we know what the value drivers are, and we prepare client contracts accordingly.

Conrad Partners has the capability to write new contracts across a broad range of commodities, or to optimise existing contracts for you.

A key component of negotiating new business with a counterparty is the negotiation of the contract. This is where experience matters. Over many years across the negotiating table we have discovered that it is far better to debate and settle contract clauses prior to execution than it is to address and resolve issues arising from a poorly constructed contract when something goes wrong.

Port Representation

Ask us about “left over concentrates.”

A good sales contract will allow the seller and the buyer to attend the weighing, loading, discharging, sampling and sample preparation of their cargo. It is usually the case that a buyer will not have any qualified employees close to the loadport, and a seller will not have any qualified employees close to the discharge port. During the cargo handling, each respective party is typically represented by supervision companies who are engaged to ensure that proper and agreed procedures are maintained.

It is common in some jurisdictions for weight settlements to be made via draft survey weighing. Draft survey weights are determined by how low the vessel sits in the water, as measured against markings painted on the ships hull. Corrections are made for water temperature and salinity, vessel characteristics and flex in the hull. Done properly, a draft survey can give accurate weights.

On a mid-range Handysize vessel, a 1cm change in water level measurement on the hull is a 40MT variance in cargo weight. For a typical standard grade, low precious metals copper concentrate, this 1cm difference in measurement translates to more than $60,000 value.

Where draft surveys are not used, then weights are determined by either a belt weighing or a static weighing system. On well maintained, properly calibrated and correctly used shore scales, it is possible to achieve accurate weights.

Conrad Partners can provide inspectors who specialise in metal and mineral cargoes. We have extensive knowledge of local operations, from ports and warehouses to smelters and refineries. A Conrad Partners representative present during the discharging, weighing, sample collection and preparation of your products will add additional surety that your interests are well protected.

Our oversight services include:

• Supervision of weighing and sampling at loading, discharge and transit locations
• Sampling in accordance with international standards
• Sample preparation
• Moisture determination
• Draft surveys
• Packing and stowage inspections
• Tallying
• Stockpile surveys
• Warehouse inspection

Audit Service

What you don’t know can hurt you.

Conrad Partners provides an audit service that will give you an objective assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your existing marketing systems and processes. It is recommended that your initial audit is comprehensive, covering all of the key revenue components of your marketing activities.

Upon completion of the audit we will provide you with a comprehensive written report. The report includes an activity-by-activity level scorecard with clear recommendations and action plans for moving forward.

Use Conrad Partners extensive knowledge and depth of experience to objectively show you where you stand, and what you need to do to ensure your company is extracting every dollar of value from your sales and marketing activities.

Contact us now and start your shift to true revenue maximization.

Market Studies

Whatever stage you are at, we can help.

Covering product characterisation, product specification, market background, market forecasts, supply & demand forecasts, pricing forecasts, product marketability and marketing strategy, Conrad can provide a study that is customised to meet your needs.

Contact us now to discuss your requirements.