They cliché “What you don’t know does not kill” might apply to other areas in business but certainly not in the diesel supply chain management, according to information African Mining Brief gathers from an interview with a fuel filtration specialist from IQ Oil South Africa, Adrian Lane.

Unknowingly, mining companies could be exposing engines of their expensive equipment to highly contaminated fuel, increasing the possibility of downtime and unscheduled high repair and replacement costs, says Lane.

“Contamination could come from many sources, mainly the way fuel is handled, from the suppliers to where it is stored like,” he explains.

One of the ways in which mining companies could prevent contamination is through including fuel cleanliness measures as part of procurement terms, suggests Lane.

African Mining Brief Online will publish a comprehensive report on this issue in the coming week.