Manganese exports are to be routed through the port of Ngqura – with the first shipments expected in 2016, Transnet CEO Brian Molefe told a business breakfast in Port Elizabeth recently. The decision puts an end to years of behindthe- scenes lobbying by major mining groups and others to rail the manganese from the Northern Cape through Saldanha Bay rather than the current routing through Port Elizabeth. “We are going to start strengthening the main line from the Northern Cape for the manganese exports,” he said. Rail capacity would increase from 100 000 tons a year to 400 000 tons, with trains going from 40 wagons to 100 wagons. Ore would be stockpiled in the Coega Industrial Development Zone, and Transnet National Ports Authority CEO Tau Morwe said a new bulk terminal would be built in the port of Ngqura – a development which was part of the original plans for the port, which will see it dug out further up the Coega river towards the N2. Speaking in response to a question on the terminal, Morwe said new breakbulk and bulk liquids terminals at Ngqura had been “factored into the budget. We will be going up the river sooner rather than later”.
Saldanha manganese exports ‘out of the picture’
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