Heavy rains hit SA coal exports

[miningmx.com] — LOGISTICS group Transnet said on Wednesday heavy rains had disrupted its freight rail operations, affecting coal and maize exports.

It said 18 trains of export coal were cancelled last week, and also affected an unspecified quantity of maize exports.

“The lines remain closed until further notice,” it said in a statement.

International coal prices have soared following floods in Queensland, Australia that have caused up to 4.5 million tonnes of lost thermal coal exports.

Utilities in Asia are scouring the market for alternative cargoes but will find there is nothing to spare from South Africa because most cargoes are committed and stocks are so low that exporters are struggling to meet existing commitments.

South Africa is a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia, but exporters have failed to ship all their export coal to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) due to bottlenecks on the rail line.

The country exported 63.43 million tonnes of coal last year, boosted by demand from China and India.

Transnet is investing heavily in new and improved infrastructure, but is still far from meeting an expanded annual capacity at the RBCT of 91 million tonnes.