Ferrochrome export deal will move 500 000 tons annually

Spoornet and Chrome Resources of Rustenburg have signed a R400 million contract to export ferrochrome and chrome ore through the Port of Richards Bay.
The five-year deal will also cover the transport of coal and coke from Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal to the Rustenburg plant, which is believed to be one of the world's lowest cost producers of stainless steel chrome.
The first shipment of chrome ore and ferrochrome was railed to Richards Bay late last year. Anticipated to average between 400 000 and 500 000 tons annually, the contract will run until June 2002, with options available for renewal.
This long-term contract effectively means that Spoornet has become a partner of Chrome Resources in the export business, says Frik Gibhart, head of the Spoornet negotiating team. Lester Miller, executive business manager of Spoornet, and Deon du Preez, managing director of Chrome Resources, signed the contract last month at a ceremony on board a special train in a new private siding built for the project at Rustenburg.
This was one of the largest contracts signed by Spoornet during 1997.
By Terry Hutson