Miners urged to start digging

Transnet group chief
executive Siyabonga Gama
has urged manganese
miners to get digging
ahead of the next upturn in
demand.
Speaking on the Port
Elizabeth harbour quayside
with a bulk carrier being
loaded with skips in the
background, Gama said
the port was exceeding its
theoretical capacity by the
use of cranes and skips to
supplement the ore berth.
Manganese ore is being
trucked from the Northern
Cape because rail cannot
handle the volumes at
present.
According to Gama plans
to establish a manganese
terminal “in the longer
term” at Ngqura are still on
track, and the facility will
be built in modules and
phases.
Transnet would be
able to handle growth
in exports of high-grade
manganese, but there is a
possibility that the mining
companies will not be in a
position to supply because
of investment cutbacks
due to the downturn in
commodity prices.
He told a media
briefing recently that
Phase 1, which involved
the upgrading of the line
between the Northern Cape
and Ngqura, was nearing
completion.
The objective is to
create a rail link capable
of handling 200 wagon
trains, with the port
infrastructure to match.
Transnet has come in
for criticism from the local
business community and
residents for delaying the
moving of the manganese
facility to Ngqura to 2020
– the latest in a string of
delays for a project that
was first scheduled for
2014.
CAPTION
Siyabonga Gama on the quayside in Port Elizabeth.