Transnet and South African mining company Exxaro signed a ten-year coal export transportation agreement last week to transport a total of 7.8 million tonnes from Waterberg to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT).
The agreement aims to increase coal volumes from Waterberg to the RBCT and will enable Transnet to increase rail infrastructure capacity to service both domestic and export markets from the Waterberg area, according to Exxaro CEO, Mxolisi Mgojo.
“This represents the realisation of our vision to contribute to the unlocking of the Waterberg, thus creating jobs and powering economic development in South Africa,” he said. “As such, we will be investing 50% of our R20 billion coal capex programme over the next five years in coal in the Waterberg area.”
Transnet’s Waterberg project is set to commence with phase two which, once completed, will grow export rail capacity to 6 million tonnes through incremental upgrades of the existing rail networks and yards using additional loops, according to the state-owned entity.
The second phase of the project is expected to be completed in March 2019.
