Manganese mines in the Northern Cape have a new rail-linked gateway for imports and exports – the Namibian port of Lüderitz Bay. Namibian rail operator TransNamib has started carrying manganese from Ariamsvlei to the port. The train departed Ariamsvlei on Thursday August 1, with the 250 tons of manganese being offloaded on Saturday, August 3. The 20-wagon trainset was pulled by two locomotives, each loaded with 26 tons of manganese “due to current railway infrastructure limitations”, says TransNamib commercial and marketing executive Hippy Tjivikua. This is the first major movement of cargo on the newly rehabilitated AusLüderitz line, which has not been operational since 1998. The first manganese exports earlier this year were carried by road. TransNamib introduced the service after it was approached in early 2018 by TradePort Namibia to ship bulk manganese from South Africa through Lüderitz Bay, according to Tjivikua. TradePort has committed 30 000 metric tons of manganese a month as part of its “pit to port” logistics, according to Tjivikua. TradePort got the go-ahead after it complied with the requirement to have enclosed storage warehouses at both Ariamsvlei and Lüderitz. “This national project has seen TransNamib recruiting more than 150 people. A lot of spinoff business activities are expected to be generated in Ariamsvlei, Keetmanshoop, Aus and Lüderitz,” says Tjivikua in a statement.