Expand coal terminals to fill demand: Grindrod

JOHANNESBURG: Shipping and logistics group Grindrod plans to expand its Mozambican and South African coal terminals to meet fast-growing demand for export capacity from miners, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

South African coal miners have for years been unable to ship all their coal destined for exports due to an inadequate rail infrastructure and frequent derailments on the lines linking South African mines with ports.

Grindrod CEO Alan Olivier said any expansion would be subject to the availability of rail capacity leading mines in South Africa's Witbank and Waterberg regions with the ports.

He said Grindrod had recently expanded capacity at the Matola coal terminal to between 6 and 7 million tonnes, out of which 5 million will be for coal and 2 million for magnetite.

The company is now finalising the feasibility study for a further expansion.

"The plan is to add up to an additional 20 million tonnes to that facility," Olivier told Reuters in an interview.

"Our intention would be to have that (expanded) facility up and running by late 2014," he said.

Olivier said the company was already in talks with potential users of that expansion, adding that the interest was "huge".

He said the company's expansion of available coal capacity at its Richards Bay dry bulk terminal to 3.2 million tonnes from 1.5 million would be completed "within months".

"Our next phase is to significantly grow that Richards Bay facility. We believe we can add 10 million tonnes or more to that facility," he said.

Copyright Reuters, 2011