Coinciding with Transnet Freight Rail’s ten-day shutdown of its iron-ore rail corridor for maintenance, Transnet Port Terminals has also shut down the Saldanha Iron Ore Terminal, on October 16.
The terminal’s shutdown forms part of the port authority’s annual maintenance plan for mechanical, electrical and structural works.
The iron-ore corridor shutdown will involve works on the entire rail line between Sishen, in the Northern Cape, and Saldanha, in the Western Cape.
Maintenance of the iron-ore terminal is essential, considering that 1.1-billion tons of iron-ore has been exported through it and an average of 30 cape-sized vessels are loaded at the facility every month.