South African manganese producers will benefit from the construction of a new terminal at the Port of Ngqura and a rail corridor running from Hotazel, in the Northern Cape, as logistics reforms gather pace with Transnet’s call for private-sector participation.
Manganese ore producers in South Africa, in collaboration with Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM), have been engaged in efforts to increase rail and port capacity.
Transnet on Friday issued a Request for Qualification to select a private player to participate in the multibillion-rand Ngqura Manganese Export Corridor, a move seen as strengthening rail and logistics reforms to unlock further potential for South Africa’s bulk-mining sector. The private player will have a tenure of about 25 years.
“It is great to see Transnet implementing the reforms. South Africa would see the benefits of these reforms in the medium term, provided that the private sector does not do it at a higher cost than Transnet,” said Vuslat Bayoglu, chairman of Menar.
“This will be critical to the success of these rail and logistics reforms,” he said in an interview.
The Ngqura corridor forms part of Transnet’s growth strategy to improve freight-network performance, support export growth and enhance the competitiveness of South Africa’s logistics system.
“The corridor is expected to play a key role in strengthening the country’s manganese export value chain,” said Transnet.
The corridor runs from Hotazel in the Northern Cape to the Port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape. Transnet has forecast that the construction of a new manganese terminal at the Port of Ngqura will boost rail exports by 20%.
South Africa holds some of the world’s largest manganese reserves, positioning the country to benefit from growing global demand for the mineral, which is key to steel manufacturing.
Last month, South32, one of the bigger South African manganese producers, said that “leveraging modernised rail infrastructure” would help to “increase rail utilisation and reduce inland logistics” costs.
Transnet said the development and strengthening of an efficient and reliable export corridor would support the mining sector, improve export competitiveness, contribute to job creation and advance broader economic growth and development objectives.
Through the request for participation in the development of the corridor, Transnet is seeking to attract investment and leverage private-sector expertise to strengthen infrastructure performance, expand capacity and unlock growth opportunities across key freight corridors.
“As part of the competitive procurement process, interested parties will be required to demonstrate their technical capability, operational experience and financial capacity, as well as compliance with Transnet’s requirements,” explained Transnet.
Respondents to the request for qualification will be required to outline their approach to delivering sustainable socio-economic benefits and community upliftment through the project.
Executives with South African bulk-mining groups have been warming to improvements in rail and logistics. Exxaro CEO Ben Magara recently said that he was “encouraged by the improvement in logistics, energy availability and grid stability” in South Africa, which would aid production and shipments of its products.
This was after Transnet Freight Rail tipped 30.95 million tonnes of coal at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal during the six-month period under review, which translates to an annualised 59.9 million tonnes.
African Rainbow Minerals CEO Phillip Tobias has also said that “continued collaboration with Transnet via the Ore Users Forum and Manganese Producers Consortium advanced rail and port reforms on the Saldanha and Ngqura corridors, delivering a 1% improvement in export rail performance and enhancing the long-term competitiveness” of South African producers.
edward.west@nationalmg.co.za
THE NATIONAL