JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Coal development company, Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL), on Friday confirmed that it was continuing discussions with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) regarding a public-private partnership on the Maputo rail corridor.

CoAL wanted to ensure the availability of rail capacity to match the port capacity it had secured through earlier agreements with Grindrod, it noted in a statement.

The Aim-, ASX- and JSE-listed coal development company had a one-million ton a year export capacity through the Matola terminal, in Maputo, which could increase to three-million tons a year by late 2010 and eventually to 13-million tons a year, following a ten-million ton a year expansion through the creation of a new dedicated coal export terminal.

“Although terms and conditions have yet to be finalised, TFR and CoAL are committed to the process, and are exploring all options to ensure a solution is found that will meet the overall objective of facilitating the use of the Maputo corridor as a viable export route for coal producers, and an alternative to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT),” the company stated.

The RBCT in South Africa is one of the world’s largest coal export terminals. It is expanding its capacity to 91-million tons a year.

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