THE Port of Richards Bay, as the world’s largest export coal terminal, is about to become even bigger through a R1.9-billion expansion plan by Grindrod Freight Services and RBT Resources.
Shipping and logistics group Grindrod and investment group RBT Resources is establishing a joint venture (JV) company to increase the capacity of Grindrod’s existing Navitrade coal terminal from 4-million tonnes a year to 20-million.
This will be undertaken by expanding the Navitrade operation onto the adjoining RBT land to develop a fully mechanised coal export terminal for smaller mining companies.
‘The market focus of the JV is to service BBBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) mining companies, including junior miners, by providing them commodity export capacity on a contracted basis – a facet of their businesses that is currently very challenging,’ says Grindrod Freight Services Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dave Rennie.
‘In addition to this, a key component of the JV will be to develop an inland coal hub that will allow junior miners to consolidate their volume in a co-operative fashion to enable those with low production volumes to access export markets and exploit economies of scale as a collective.
‘Discussions are underway with Transnet to gain their support for the project; if successful, it should be an enabler in the coal mining sector for job creation and skills transfer,’ Rennie said.
The JV is currently scheduled to be fully incorporated by the end of this month.
Grindrod will have a 49.9% stake in the JV and RBT will hold 50.1%, making it a black controlled company.
