Junior miners need Maputo

Investment in the bulk handling
facilities in the port of Maputo
– accompanied by Transnet
Freight Rail (TFR) increasing
its capacity to serve the port – is
necessary to open up markets
for the smaller coal, iron and
chrome miners in the Limpopo
and Mpumalanga provinces,
says Jorge Ferraz, CEO of the
Maputo Port Development
Company (MPDC).
“Junior mining companies
– many of which are black
economic empowerment
ventures – are being restricted
by a lack of export capacity,”
he says.
Some miners have had
to resort to road, which is
costly and inefficient when
transporting bulk commodities.
“Around 80% of the chrome
going through Maputo is
travelling by road, and we can
see how this traffic is destroying
the road infrastructure,” he says.
MPDC shareholders
Grindrod, CFM (the
Mozambican government
port authority) and DP World
are willing to invest in the
necessary port-side facilities
and rail link on the Mozambican
side of the border, but it is up
to TFR to empower the junior
miners through investment in
the required rolling stock and
rail upgrades on the South
African side.
Ferraz is outspoken
about what he sees as the
responsibilities of the South
African government and its
parastatals.
“South Africa has to think and
behave like the regional power
it is. As the regional power it
has a responsibility to ensure
development of the corridors
linking it to its neighbours. In
this way South Africa will be
contributing to the development
of those neighbouring
economies but more importantly
contributing to its own economy
by ensuring facilitation of trade.
“Maputo is important to the
region. Physically, our port
serves the same areas that
Durban does. Therefore it
complements the South African
ports to such an extent that it
should be considered the ninth
South African port and should
be part of the South African
National Strategy for Ports, Rail
and Corridors.
“From a purely South
African market perspective,
we are effectively part of
Mpumalanga,” he says.
Without efficient road and
rail links to an efficient port,
economic growth in the region
will be stifled – as can be
seen in the challenges facing
junior miners.