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 happened. We will also need to clear the iron ore (from the rail track) before the line can be opened, but I can’t tell when this is going to happen”.
Kumba was recently involved in an ugly dispute with ArcelorMittal over pricing for iron ore delivered by the mining group to them. The dispute ended this week after the intervention of government Minister Rob Davies.
Transnet transports about 44.7 million tons of ore annually.