Media releases

22 September 2006

Minister of Minerals & Energy officially opens Richards Bay Coal Terminal Phase V expansion project

RICHARDS BAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2006 – The Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, officiated at the sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal Phase V Expansion project here today.

This expansion project will see the terminal expand from its current annual throughput capacity of 72 million tons to 91 million tons per annum to meet the country’s short to medium term export capacity requirements. This is in contrast to 30 years ago, when RBCT opened the gateway to international coal markets with a modest capacity of 12 million tons per annum.

“The project will not only increase SA’s share of the global coal market, but will play a critical role in promoting transformation within the coal export industry and the coal mining industry in general,” said RBCT Executive Chairman, Kuseni Dlamini.

He added: “SA is currently one of the top five exporters of coal in the world. With our current 72m ton capacity and loading records that equate to twice that capacity, we are the world’s single largest and most efficient coal terminal. This expansion project will only consolidate that position, an important consideration given that RBCT is the second largest foreign income generator for South Africa.”

By earmarking 4 million tons per annum for emerging BEE exporters, the expansion project, which will be completed in 2009, makes special provision for the emergence of a new generation of coal exporters. Of the remaining 15 million tons per annum of the expansion, 6 million will be taken up by South Dunes Coal Terminal, a two thirds BEE-controlled company. The remaining 9 million tons per annum of the expansion capacity will be open for tender with an emphasis on empowerment. The tender process for this additional tonnage commenced in September with Alexander Forbes appointed as the independent adjudicator for the tender process. RBCT recently held a well-attended tender clarification meeting on 19th September 2006 in respect of the 9m tons which would be available for subscription to new exporters. A total of 72 representatives attended the meeting representing 52 applicants.

In concluding, Dlamini went on to say: “And so today, we are not just celebrating the expansion of stockyards, or the commissioning of a new stacker-reclaimer, or additional rail capacity by our national rail carrier. We are celebrating the transformation of South Africa’s coal industry – and the removal of the last obstacle that has prevented BEE and emerging coal miners from competing equally for a share of the export coal market. We are celebrating the significant contribution that this project will make to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (Asgisa).

We are celebrating the thousands of jobs that will be created upstream in the coal-mining sector and the impact that that those jobs and the 3500 local jobs that will be created in our local community during the project phase, will have on the lives of several thousand ordinary South Africans.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Roz Thomas
Corporate Communications Consultants (Pty) Ltd
Tel:+27 (0) 11 783 8926
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Email: rozt@corpcom.co.za