Another milestone for RB coal terminal expansion

A FIFTH tandem tippler, which offloads rail trucks by inverting them, is the latest step in the R1.1-billion expansion at Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The tippler project is just reaching completion, and the whole expansion is due to be completed in the first half of 2009 – increasing the terminal’s capacity from its current annual throughput of 72-million tonnes to 91-mt. The extra number of trains this is expected to generate necessitated the construction of the fifth tandem tippler – a three-month construction programme which called for some ingenious tricks of the trade from specialist sub-contractors, DURA Soletanche Bachy. According to operations director Brian McDonald, preparing the underground works for the tippler pit presented several challenges – space constraints and the location of the new tippler between two live railway lines, both of them with frequent trains. The tippler project has a mid-October completion date. The RBCT is already the largest single export coal terminal in the world – setting a new world record in September last year by loading and exporting 409 809-tonnes of coal in a 24-hour period. The latest figures available from the company show that RBCT handled 753 trains in August – shipping 5-mt of coal, and bringing the total throughput in the first eight months of this year to 42-mt. SA coal exports generated R21.5-billion in foreign exchange during 2006, exporting coal to 28 countries, although almost 90% is destined for the European Union (EU) where the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Belgium remain the largest consumers. According to RBCT, demand for SA coal is also growing in India and China, where coal imports are growing fast thanks to strong demand and pressures to restrict domestic coal mining investment and production.