RBCT sees no slowdown in coal exports

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Nov 2008

The world’s largest single coal terminal, the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), had not seen a decrease in volumes exported, despite the global economic downturn. Although the price of coal might have decreased significantly, the quantity of coal exported had not been affected, and the demand for South African coal remained high, RBCT export operations specialist Julio dos Santos told to Mining Weekly Online. The terminal had the capacity to export some 72-million tons a year of coal, and about 70-million tons of this was a stable contracted supply.
Although some industry sectors, which make use of coal in their operations, such as steel producers, have indicated that they would be scaling back production, much of the coal exported overseas from RBCT was used to fire power stations, and since it was winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it was anticipated that demand would remain steady.
Confidence in the fundamentals of the coal market was evident in RBCT’s continuing phase-five expansion project, which would boost capacity to 91-million tons a year , and was expected to be completed by mid-2009.
Bateman Engineering was contracted for the provision of an additional tandem tippler for train off-loading, bringing the number of tipplers at the terminal up to five.
Bateman was also responsible for the additional bucket-wheel type stacker-reclaimer, associated extensions to the existing conveyor system, the replacement of the terminal control system, all civil works, the rail loop extensions, as well as all other related services for the complete project.
The additional tippler and rail loop extensions would go some way to assist Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) with efficiencies and boost turnaround times, allowing the coal transporter to supply the additional coal required for export once the phase five expansion was completed.
TFR itself was undergoing a major capital expenditure (capex) programme in order to increase the tonnages transported. The company was spending some R12-billion, of which about R7,2-billion had already been spent.
Over 1 000 new wagons would be built under the new capex programme to accommodate increased tonnages. Transnet Rail Engineering had already started building the first 300 wagons, which would go into service in March 2009. New locomotives would also be procured, signalling systems would be improved and formation (the ground beneath the tracks like a foundation) would be reinforced, as well as a significant rail replacement programme, which was currently under way.
The R1,2-billion RBCT expansion programme included three elements that would take up the expanded capacity, including a four-million-ton capacity for emerging black economic-empowerment (BEE) mining companies, a six-million-ton capacity for the new shareholder components of the South Dunes Coal Terminal, and a nine-million-ton capacity for subscription by other companies with BEE priority.

Source: Mining Weekly