Waterberg coal logistics a priority, says Molefe

Moving coal from the
Waterberg is not as simplistic
as one would think – and
setting a timeline to this
major project is extremely
difficult, Brian Molefe,
Transnet GCE, said recently.
“The Richards Bay coal
corridor is already congested
because it has to handle both
coal and general freight.
Opening up export capacity
from the Waterberg is high
on our agenda.”
Whilst much money
is being plunged into the
project, Molefe said the first
step would be to remove
general freight from the
Richards Bay corridor which
will be achieved through
the building of the new
general freight link through
Swaziland.
The next big step, said
Molefe, will be to find a
solution to bypassing the
Rustenburg/Brits area where
the existing railway line will
not be able to handle the
weight of heavy freight.
“This part of the line will
not be able to carry 26-axle
loads due to the clay soil
conditions. We are therefore
going to have to bypass this
area to link the Waterberg
miners to the coal corridor.”
He said he did not foresee
any of this happening before
2016. “The focus is now on
the first phase which is the
Swaziland loop – we have
announced the project, we
have turned the sod and we
want to start construction,
and then we can focus on
how we are going to bypass
the Rustenburg area.”
He said the Waterberg coal
reserves were important to
Transnet and at the moment
the company was moving
coal from the Waterberg to
Witbank for Eskom.
“We want to position South
Africa as the key thermal
coal supplier in the world. To
do that we are upgrading our
infrastructure by investing
in upgrades and expansion
across the country.”