Global Markets: Richards Bay Coal Terminal to export 74M tons of coal this year

Richards Bay Coal Terminal last year’s export performance was an all-time record for the private-sector-owned  terminal, which works as a fully integrated supply chain with State-owned Transnet Freight Rail. South Africa’s coal logistics hub exported 71.3-million tons of coal in 2014, targeting 74-million tons for 2015, the Miningweekly reports.

“It’s a number that we want to beat,” said Siwisa-Damasane at the world-class terminal, which has a current capacity to export 91-million tons a year.

Preliminary research work has been done on a Phase 5 expansion of the terminal, which would increase the capacity by 19-million tons a year to 110-million tons a year.

The potential equipment and capacity requirements for this expansion have been established through research work.

RBCT, which is on a path of continuous improvement, achieved 97.65% of the 73-million-ton target set for 2014.

The terminal’s improved performance took place despite a power outage in February and oil spill in April.

The 519-employee company, which is owned by the 16 big and small companies that use it, is 28.29% black owned with black women holding 3.11%.

Four-million tons of Quattro capacity is allocated to 23 junior miners in a process that has been reviewed every year for the past three years.

In 2014, an average of 27 trains a day arrived at the terminal made up of mainly jumbo wagons that fed 786 ships.

Sixty seven per cent of the South African-mined coal was exported to Asia, 25% to Europe and 6.5% to Africa with 41 countries receiving coal.

After RBCT lost two-million tons to power supply failure, State electricity utility Eskom installed an additional overhead line, which means RBCT is now served by three separate power lines.

Operations were also hit last year when an old decommissioned pipeline caused an oil spill