West Coast Business News & Directory.

Kumba Loses Appeal Over Sishen Stake

MINERAL Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has rejected Kumba Iron Ore’s appeal against the granting of a prospecting right over part of the Sishen mine to Imperial Crown Trading 289. The country’s largest iron-ore producer, Kumba, is left with the courts as its only recourse to contest the Department of Mineral Resources’ decision to grant Imperial a right to prospect for iron ore...

Saldanha Bay, Mittal & Kumba agree on iron ore pricing.

ArcelorMittal South Africa expected third-quarter earnings would decline from the second quarter as the company grappled with lower international steel prices, falling demand and higher input costs, chief executive Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita said yesterday. ArcelorMittal SA, the local unit of the world’s biggest producer of steel, also announced that it would cancel a surcharge on steel products...

Sishen to Saldanha. Transnet extends iron line shutdown

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Transnet’s largest division by revenue, said on Monday that it has delayed the reopening of the export iron ore line, which was shut down after “extensive damage” following a derailment last week. The freight train derailed near Vredenburg north of Saldanha in the Western Cape on Thursday July 22. It was en route from Kumba Iron Ore’s (KIO) Sishen...

Saldanha Bay. Kumba Iron Ore considering a Value share arrangement.

South Africa’s iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) has confirmed that it is considering a “conditional” value-sharing arrangement for the 6,25-million tons of iron-ore that it mines for ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) and has previously supplied to the steel producer under a cost-plus 3% arrangement that flowed from the 2001 unbundling of Iscor. The miner met with the Trade and...

Govt shifts iron-ore emphasis from corporate rights to national interest

The South African government moved on Thursday to further shift the emphasis in the ongoing dispute between Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) and ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) beyond the realm of corporate and legal rights, to one that was also sensitive to South Africa’s national interests. The State’s bid to influence the tone of the discussion began in earnest last Friday, when Trade and Industry...

Transnet to reopen Sishen–Saldanha line on Wednesday

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Sishen–Saldanha railway line would be reopened on Wednesday evening, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) spokesperson Sandile Simelane confirmed on Monday. The railway line was closed on Thursday afternoon, after a train transporting iron-ore from Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine to the port of Saldanha derailed near Vredenburg. One diesel and one electric locomotive,...

Derailment Sees Transnet Shut Down Ore Line

Transnet announced Saturday that it was shutting down an ore rail one after the derailment of a train with ore onboard. The line between the Sishen mine owned by Kumba Iron Ore and the Saldhana port would take the parastatal some time to clear. It is used by Kumba to export steel and ore to foreign markets. Sandile Simelane of Transnet said : “we will need to conduct an enquiry to establish what...

ArcelorMittal SA seeks quick end to row with kumba

The South African unit of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, on Tuesday said it was cooperating with Kumba Iron Ore to expedite a prolonged dispute over iron-ore supply amicably. ArcelorMittal South Africa also said steel prices were set to rise on recovery of global demand, restocking and a boom in South Africa’s economy, particularly in the construction industry. “We...

Strike at Saldanha port, Kumba has iron ore for 7 days.

Thousands of South African transport workers went on strike on Monday at logistics group Transnet, threatening to cripple rail, fuel pipelines and port operations in Africa’s biggest economy. The strike – the latest in a series of public protests ahead of next month’s soccer World Cup – could affect coal and iron-ore exports, fuel distribution, and shipping. Power utility Eskom...

ArcelorMittal in Saldanha Bay could be facing iron ore supply problems.

Kumba Iron Ore appears to have dealt steel giant ArcelorMittal South Africa another body blow in the ongoing battle between the two companies. The Mail & Guardian understands that Kumba has applied for a 21% share in the mining rights to the Sishen mine, which lie at the heart of the corporate bun fight. The matter is being closely watched as it ultimately goes to the heart of steel pricing in...