Sep7, 2011
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) exported 6.987 million tonnes of coal in August compared with 4.36 million tonnes the previous month, RBCT data showed on Tuesday.
South Africa -- a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia -- had 3.996 million tonnes of stock at the terminal at the end of August, RBCT said.
(sourced Reuters)
Showing posts with label South African coal news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South African coal news. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
S.Africa's RBCT shelves expansion plans-paper
Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:43am GMT* Says increase in exports dependent to rail expansion
* RBCT's current capacity at 91 mln tonnes
JOHANNESBURG, March 30 (Reuters) - South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has shelved plans to increase export volumes until 2015 due to the slow pace of rail infrastructure expansion, the Business Report newspaper said on Wednesday.
South Africa is a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia, but bottlenecks on the rail line leading to the Indian Ocean terminal are hampering shipments.
RBCT chief executive Raymond Chirwa said efforts to increase exports were frustrated because of limited infrastructure provided by state rail and logistics group Transnet [TRAN.UL].
"It would be irresponsible for RBCT to expand when the other items of the value chain have not expanded," Chirwa was quoted as saying.
"We can extend beyond 100 million tonnes a year but that depends on the performance of Transnet Freight Rail, which has not expanded its infrastructure to our 91 million tonnes capacity. At the moment there is a deficit in the rail."
An RBCT spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Transnet has been investing heavily in new and improved infrastructure, but is still far from meeting annual RBCT capacity of 91 million tonnes.
In 2010, South African coal exports rose to 63.43 million tonnes, boosted by demand from China and India.
Companies in the coal sector include Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote), Xstrata.(sourced:Reuters)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Richards Bay coal derailment on Thurs minor loss
Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:11pm GM
LONDON (Reuters) - A derailment on the Richards Bay coal line near Ermelo on Thursday is unlikely to result in large tonnage lost, rail and exporter sources said.
The derailment was caused by theft of power cables, a common problem on the South African rail system, they said.
A series of derailments in December and early January plus industrial action cut at least 3 million tonnes from South Africa's exports at the tail end of 2010 and beginning of this year, industry sources said.
South Africa is unlikely to be able to export 60 million tonnes in 2011 and the final total may be even lower if transportation continues to be beset by problems, they said.
"There was a minor derailment early on Thursday but repairs are being carried out and no tonnage has been lost yet although there will be some loss as a consequence," one source said.
Transnet Freight Rail had transports 1.45 million tonnes in the week to Thursday and is expected to quickly catch up after the latest derailment.(sourced:Thomson Reuters)
The derailment was caused by theft of power cables, a common problem on the South African rail system, they said.
A series of derailments in December and early January plus industrial action cut at least 3 million tonnes from South Africa's exports at the tail end of 2010 and beginning of this year, industry sources said.
South Africa is unlikely to be able to export 60 million tonnes in 2011 and the final total may be even lower if transportation continues to be beset by problems, they said.
"There was a minor derailment early on Thursday but repairs are being carried out and no tonnage has been lost yet although there will be some loss as a consequence," one source said.
Transnet Freight Rail had transports 1.45 million tonnes in the week to Thursday and is expected to quickly catch up after the latest derailment.(sourced:Thomson Reuters)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
South Africa Should Mull New Coal Port, McCloskey Says
Feb9, 2011
South Africa should study building a new coal-export harbor to meet surging demand from Asia or risk falling behind nations that are investing in transportation and output of the fuel, research company McCloskey Group said.
“South Africa is the natural supplier for India’s new demand,” Managing Director Gerard McCloskey said at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town today. Yet the nation is “humble in its aspirations” and infrastructure is underfunded, he said. Planned new rail lines in African countries may increase regional coal output, while Mozambique and Botswana are also looking to boost production, he said. While South Africa last year expanded capacity at Richards Bay Coal Terminal to an annual 91 million metric tons, state-run rail operator Transnet Ltd., which delivers most of the fuel to the facility, is only able to carry about 65 million tons.
The country last year shipped 62.86 million tons from the terminal, owned by producers including BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata Plc. The terminal handles more than 90 percent of South Africa’s coal exports, while Asia overtook Europe as the country’s main overseas market for the product during the past two years. “The European market is fading but the Asian market is really booming,” McCloskey said. “One in three ships that goes out of Richards Bay now heads for India.” The government should consider appointing a coal “czar” to encourage development of the industry, he said. (source: Bloomberg)
South Africa should study building a new coal-export harbor to meet surging demand from Asia or risk falling behind nations that are investing in transportation and output of the fuel, research company McCloskey Group said.
“South Africa is the natural supplier for India’s new demand,” Managing Director Gerard McCloskey said at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town today. Yet the nation is “humble in its aspirations” and infrastructure is underfunded, he said. Planned new rail lines in African countries may increase regional coal output, while Mozambique and Botswana are also looking to boost production, he said. While South Africa last year expanded capacity at Richards Bay Coal Terminal to an annual 91 million metric tons, state-run rail operator Transnet Ltd., which delivers most of the fuel to the facility, is only able to carry about 65 million tons.
The country last year shipped 62.86 million tons from the terminal, owned by producers including BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata Plc. The terminal handles more than 90 percent of South Africa’s coal exports, while Asia overtook Europe as the country’s main overseas market for the product during the past two years. “The European market is fading but the Asian market is really booming,” McCloskey said. “One in three ships that goes out of Richards Bay now heads for India.” The government should consider appointing a coal “czar” to encourage development of the industry, he said. (source: Bloomberg)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
