Transnet would move its manganese export terminal from Port Elizabeth to the port of Ngqura at nearby Coega by 2014 or 2015, Transnet Port Terminals chief executive Karl Socikwa said yesterday.
Upgrading the railway line, which runs from Hotazel in the Northern Cape to Ngqura, may cost 4.5 times more a ton than if the iron ore line to Saldanha were expanded to include manganese, Heidi Sternberg, an analyst at Standard Bank’s SBG Securities unit, said in April. Transnet’s calculations showed the cost to be lower, Socikwa said.
Mining companies have sought increased port and rail capacity. Producers currently export from Port Elizabeth, where Transnet will close its manganese terminal. – Bloomberg