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Brand new equipment takes centre stage at coal terminal

The official launch of a new machine at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal

The official launch of a new machine at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal

Photo by Martin Creamer

21st June 2018

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

     

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RICHARDS BAY COAL TERMINAL (miningweekly.com) – The first phase of the equipment replacement project reached full swing at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) on Thursday when R1.34-billion worth of brand new stacker reclaimers and shiploaders went into official action, holding out the prospect of improved turnaround times for coal exporters.

The replacement project was boldly announced when the coal price was down at the $70/t level but has come on stream with greater efficiency at a time when the coal price has risen to a considerably higher $105/t.

The two new shiploaders are operating at 99% efficiency and the two new stacker reclaimers are taking over from old machines that have been on continuous duty for the past 42 years.

“The turnaround time on vessels coming in will be improved, which adds to efficiency for exporters,” RBCT CEO Alan Waller commented to Mining Weekly Online.

Coal exportation, which has continued with absolute minimum disruption, is slightly ahead of what it was at this stage last year, when RBCT exported a record 76.47-million tonnes of coal.

“It’s run very smoothly,” RBCT project GM Bill Murphy told Mining Weekly Online.

All four machines were built at the same time by TZME of China. “They’re the best I’ve seen in the world,” added project doyen Murphy, who turns 69 next month and retires at the end of August after nearly four decades in the business.

 “The greatest achievement is the safety record. We injured nobody,” Murphy emphasised.

Besides the design, supply and erection of two 6 000 t/h rail-mounted stacker reclaimers and two 10 000 t/h rail-mounted shiploaders, electrical substations have been reconfigured and old machines cut up and sold as scrap.

Increasing the boom lengths of the stacker reclaimers to 60 m reduces the need to bulldoze coal stockpiles and their design capacity is up from a previous 4 500 t/h.

Structural life expectancy is 40 years plus.

Orders with South African companies amounted to 65% stacker reclaimer local content and a 55% shiploader local content.

Sandvik Mining Systems was the main contractor, Aurecon the project manager for the stacker reclaimers and the shiploaders, and Norconsult the project manager for the electrical substation.

Fully built and dry commissioned in China, the machines were shipped to RBCT where they were assembled for operation.

Black women own 6.18% of RBCT and a black female engineer had the experience of living in China for six months during the period of fabrication in that country, RBCT chairperson Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane told the audience at the launch. Also present was former chairperson and current nonexecutive RBCT director Mike Teke.

The project came in under budget and marginally behind schedule but within the mandate of minimum disruption to the terminal  operation.

The second phase is expected to be announced within the next five years.

Operators, who formerly had to access the old machines by ladder, now enjoy stairways to new fancy seats, and have fridges, microwaves and kettles laid on.

Private-sector-owned RBCT receives railed locally mined coal from State transport enterprise Transnet Freight Rail. RBCT stackers allocate the coal to 98 stockpiles and reclaimers extract 42 different grades of coal from the stockpiles. The shiploaders then load the coal on to waiting vessels at the port operated by the State-owned Transnet National Port Authority and the vessels then transport the coal to destinations around the world.

RBCT has the capacity to load 91-million tonnes of coal but Transnet Freight Rail has the capacity to deliver only 81-million tonnes. Targeted in 2018 is the loading of 77-million tonnes of coal.

Eighty-one per cent of the coal loaded at RBCT during 2017 was delivered to India, Pakistan and South Korea, 10.1% to Europe and 7.8% to Africa by the 907 ships that called.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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