Saldanha (miningweekly.com) – The expansion of South Africa’s iron-ore corridor to handle 60-million tons of iron-ore a year is poised for “flawless transition”, says Kumba Iron Ore CEO Chris Griffith.

Griffith reports that the Saldanha port is already able to accept the next tranche of additional iron-ore from Kumba’s new Kolomela mine and Assmang’s Khumani expansion, and Transnet last year began providing new locomotive and wagon capacity for the iron-ore railway line.

Griffith was talking to Mining Weekly Online in a video interview at the opening of the new high-technology iron-ore sampling plant at the port of Saldanha.

The mining industry and Transnet are already working on increasing the capacity of the corridor by another 30-million tons a year, from 60-million tons to 90-million tons a year.

“We’re working very closely to understand the capital costs involved and once we understand the scope of the project, the funding and the participation will be addressed,” the Kumba CEO says.

Transnet iron-ore corridor executive James Mackay reports that the iron-ore line carried 47,3-million export tons in its last financial year and is targeting an export level of 50-million tons in 2011, to take in Kolomela and Khumani phase two.

Mackay says that the State-owned transport enterprise is also taking steps to accommodate new black economic empowerment iron-ore juniors.

Also in a Mining Weekly Online video interview, Mackay adds that a Transnet and mining industry study has already scoped the proposed rise in the throughput to 93-million tons a year.

Although this throughput level will also potentially include manganese as an export product, consideration continues to be given to manganese being railed instead to the port of Coega in the Eastern Cape.

Transnet, meanwhile, is committed to ceasing the export of manganese from Port Elizabeth by 2016.

The State-owned rail enterprise, which expects to spend R110-billion in the next five years, has indicated that it may not be in a position to fund all of the expansions and may need private sector participation.

Mackay confirms that the port’s 60-million-ton capacity is in place from an asset perspective and the rolling stock required to provide matching rail capacity lends itself to being introduced incrementally.

“As the demand from industry is put in place, wagon and locomotive build programmes will bring in rolling stock in line with demand,” Mackay explains to Mining Weekly Online.

The port of Saldanha has been the gateway to the world for iron-ore exporters ever since the first iron-ore was loaded in 1976.

Kumba, which last year exported 36,1-million tons through Saldanha, has upped its game with the launch of the new open-access Saldanha sampling plant, designed by IMP Innovative Solutions, which will also manage its operation.

IMP GM Martin Matthysen tells Mining Weekly Online that results from the the new high-technology iron-ore sampling plant start coming through within three hours of the first sample being delivered, versus the tradition laboratory turnaround of anything between three and 14 days.

Measured “consistently and accurately” are iron-ore particle sizes, moisture content and the chemical compositions.
 

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