South Africa’s mineral endowment is resulting in cash gushing into the Receiver of Revenue’s office and foreign exchange pouring through the border gates. Mining has become our economic saviour in an otherwise slumped economy. But reciprocity is needed.
For instance, our iron-ore is special. It fetches higher prices than iron-ore from other countries. So why not put as much of it as possible down that iron-ore line to Saldanha Bay? Come on, Transnet. Put in another loop or two and take advantage of the iron-ore price rocket.
The knock-on effect of Joe Biden’s first tranche of $2.25-trillion on infrastructure will be major for steel demand, and thus also for steel’s iron-ore and manganese ore ingredients. There should be no issues with rail logistics but there are. Transnet should get out there and up its game.