Skip to content

Operations

Where the supply chain begins

BASE's operations span four coordinated functions — from securing extraction partnerships to identifying the next source of supply. Each is run to the same standard, regardless of material or origin country, and each feeds directly into the next: partnerships secure the material, processing prepares it, and exploration makes sure the network keeps growing rather than depending on a handful of suppliers.

Mining Operations

Managing extraction partnerships, not extraction risk

BASE does not operate mines or quarries directly. Instead, we manage long-term partnerships with established operators across proven mineral belts in Türkiye and Russia, coordinating volumes, specifications and schedules on behalf of our buyers.

How We Work

Partner selection

We work only with operators who hold valid extraction licences and a track record of consistent output. New partners are reviewed against the same criteria as our longest-standing suppliers, with no exceptions for volume or price. A licence that's technically valid but recently issued still gets the same scrutiny as one held for a decade — track record matters as much as paperwork.

Volume planning

Extraction schedules are coordinated against confirmed buyer demand, not speculative output. That keeps material moving instead of sitting in stockpiles waiting for a buyer. It also protects the operator from the boom-and-bust cycle of chasing speculative demand that doesn't materialise.

On-site verification

Material is checked at the point of extraction before it enters the processing stage. Catching an issue here is faster and cheaper than catching it at the port. A batch flagged here never reaches the processing stage, let alone a ship.

We manage the relationship, the operator manages the risk — and buyers get consistent supply either way. That division of responsibility is what lets both sides do their part well. Neither side has to guess where the other one's responsibility starts.

Ore Processing

Quality control before material reaches export

Between extraction and export, raw material is processed, graded and prepared to the specification each buyer has agreed with BASE. This is where most quality variance is caught and corrected — long before a shipment reaches the port, let alone the buyer's own facility.

How We Work

Grading & sizing

Material is sorted to the agreed size, grade or purity before it is released for shipment. Off-spec material is held back rather than blended in to make volume. We'd rather ship a smaller volume on time than a full volume a buyer has to sort through on arrival.

Sampling & testing

Batches are sampled and tested against specification at the processing stage, not only at the port. That gives us time to correct an issue before it becomes a delayed shipment. Every test result is logged against the batch number, so a question raised weeks later can still be traced back to a specific sample.

Packaging & labelling

Material is prepared and labelled to the import requirements of the destination market. Getting this wrong is one of the most common causes of customs delay, so we check it before, not after, loading. Requirements differ by destination market, and we track those differences per buyer rather than applying a single default.

Every batch is verified at the processing stage — the last point where a correction is still cheap. Catching an issue here costs a day; catching it at the buyer's dock costs a relationship. We'd rather absorb that day than let a buyer absorb the cost of sorting bad material at their own facility.

Petroleum

Coordinating petroleum supply for industrial buyers

Alongside solid minerals, BASE sources and coordinates petroleum supply for industrial buyers who require dependable access alongside their other raw material contracts. It's managed by the same team, under the same compliance and documentation standard as the rest of our sourcing network, so buyers aren't managing a separate relationship for a separate material.

How We Work

Supplier vetting

Petroleum sources are vetted against the same compliance and documentation standard as our mineral partners. There is no lighter-touch process for one material category over another. A supplier who wouldn't pass our mineral-partner audit doesn't get a pass because petroleum has different market dynamics.

Contract coordination

We structure supply schedules that align with buyers' broader raw material planning. Petroleum and mineral shipments can be coordinated together where that suits a buyer's logistics. That coordination is arranged upfront, in the contract, not improvised after two separate shipments happen to clash.

Regulatory compliance

Every contract is checked against applicable export, sanctions and customs requirements before it proceeds — verified independently of what any single supplier or intermediary reports to us. Petroleum carries its own layer of export controls on top of standard customs requirements, and we check both, not just the more familiar one.

Products We Supply

Base Oil

Group I–III mineral base stocks for lubricant blending.

API 1509 base oil category classification

Engine Oils

Multigrade, monograde and semi-synthetic oils for gasoline and diesel engines.

SAE J300 viscosity grades; API SN/SP & CK-4 service categories

Gear Oils

Extreme-pressure oils for industrial and automotive gear systems.

API GL-4 / GL-5 performance classification

Industrial Oils

General-purpose circulating and lubricating oils for industrial machinery.

ISO 3448 viscosity grades (ISO VG)

Hydraulic System Oils

Fluids for hydraulic power transmission systems.

ISO 6743-4 (Family H) classification; ISO VG viscosity grades

Mold & Cutting Oils

Metalworking fluids for machining and mold-release applications.

ISO 6743-7 (Family M) metalworking fluid classification

Cooling Oils

Cooling and lubricating fluids for metal cutting and forming.

DIN 51385 cooling lubricant terminology

Greases

Lubricating greases for bearings and industrial machinery.

NLGI consistency grades per ASTM D217

Automatic Transmission Oil

Fluid for automatic transmission systems in passenger and light-duty vehicles.

SAE J311 automatic transmission fluid requirements

2- & 4-Stroke Motorcycle Oils

Oils formulated for two-stroke and four-stroke motorcycle engines.

JASO MA/MB (4-stroke) & JASO FC/FD (2-stroke) classification

Fuel Additives

Additive packages for gasoline and diesel fuel performance.

Formulated to ASTM D4814 (gasoline) and EN 590 (diesel) fuel specifications

Motor Break-In Oils

Low-friction-modifier oils for engine break-in periods.

Formulated to API SL/SN service requirements

One point of contact for petroleum and minerals alike — coordinated, not just co-located. One team, one standard, two material categories. Buyers stop thinking of it as two relationships within the first few shipments.

Exploration Activities

Identifying new sources to keep the network resilient

Markets shift, and a single-source supply chain is a fragile one. BASE continuously evaluates new producers and deposits across our source regions to keep buyers protected against disruption — whether that's a shift in demand, a supplier capacity constraint, or a new material buyers are asking us to source.

How We Work

Producer scouting

We assess new quarries, mines and refiners against the same standards our existing partners meet. A new relationship only moves forward if it can match our existing supply commitments, not just add volume. Meeting the standard on paper isn't enough — we look for the same consistency of output we'd expect from a supplier we've worked with for years.

Capacity assessment

New sources are evaluated for the volumes and consistency required to support long-term contracts. We're evaluating for years of supply, not a single shipment. A producer who can deliver an impressive one-off volume isn't the same as one who can deliver that volume reliably, quarter after quarter.

Phased onboarding

New partners are introduced gradually, verified against live orders before scaling supply. No new supplier enters our network at full volume on day one. Only once a partner has proven itself against real, live orders does it take on a meaningful share of a buyer's supply.

The network keeps growing quietly, in the background — so buyers never have to think about where the next source is coming from. It's slow, deliberate work, and that's precisely why it holds up when something elsewhere doesn't. The value of that work is almost entirely invisible until the one week it isn't.