Durban wood export venture gets going

TERRY HUTSON A NEW wood chipping mill at Durban’s Maydon Wharf is gearing up to ship the first consignment of approximately 35 000 tonnes of air dried wood chips to Japan. The NCT Durban Wood Chips mill began receiving debarked logs for chipping in late August and the first ship is expected to load cargo early next month (October). The mill is a joint venture between NCT Forestry (a KwaZulu Natal farming co-operative) and the Zululand Chip Management Company and will provide a monthly shipload of between 35 000 - 40 000 tonnes of woodchips for a planned annual capacity of 360 000 tonnes. The modern plant incorporates a totally enclosed 320m long storage shed with capacity for 80 000 tonnes (244 000 cubic metres) of wood chips, which now dominates the Maydon Wharf skyline. It also marks the return of wood chipping exports to Durban after a gap of many years, ever since the original mill was relocated to Richards Bay where there are now three export plants. The Durban facility is being fed by rail and road from plantations in the southern and central KwaZulu Natal area.