Bolivia

Bolivia has no coastline and three competing ways in, and EMM prices all of them because none is obviously best. The Chilean ports of Arica and Iquique handle most cargo under long-standing free transit arrangements and are the usual choice for La Paz and the altiplano. Matarani in Peru serves the west. The Paraguay-Parana waterway through Puerto Busch and Puerto Aguirre reaches Santa Cruz by barge and is often cheapest for heavy equipment, if you can accept the schedule. We quote the route that suits the cargo rather than the one that suits us.

Two Bolivias, two specifications

Santa Cruz in the eastern lowlands is the economic engine - soy and sunflower crushing, sugar, maize, sorghum, cattle, and the agro-industrial plant that goes with it - and it is hot, humid and at 400 m. The altiplano is something else entirely. La Paz sits between 3,250 and 4,100 m, El Alto at 4,150 m, and the mines at Potosi and the Uyuni salt flat are higher still. At 4,000 m a naturally aspirated diesel engine delivers roughly 60 percent of its sea-level output, air compressors lose capacity, and cooling works poorly. We derate for the actual site, and we will ask where it is before quoting anything with an engine or a compressor in it.

Mining, lithium, Brazil nuts

Mining is deep-rooted - tin at Huanuni, silver, zinc and lead around Potosi, and the San Cristobal operation - buying crushing, grinding, flotation, gravity concentration, slurry pumps, dewatering and laboratory plant. Lithium in the Salar de Uyuni, where the brine reserves are among the largest known anywhere, has drawn evaporation, pumping, crystallisation and handling equipment enquiries. Natural gas in Tarija takes pumps, valves and compression. Bolivia is also the world's largest exporter of Brazil nuts, and the Riberalta processing plants buy cracking, drying, grading, sorting and vacuum packing equipment. Quinoa processing, textiles in alpaca and llama fibre, and cement complete it.

Technical notes

Line voltage is 230 V single phase and 400 V three phase, 50 Hz, but parts of La Paz are still supplied at 115 V - so confirm the actual installation voltage, not the national figure. IBNORCA administers standards. Spanish documentation throughout.

Send us the site altitude in metres and the city. On this market those two numbers matter more than the price.