A.M. Joekes
Transportation and Exportation of South African Coal
Literature survey,
Report 2002.LT.5636, Transport Technology, Logistic Engineering.
As the global need for coal is growing, the export coal industry faces
challenges regarding cost efficient transport to meet demand. The export
coal supply chain in South Africa, the leader in cost efficient coal
transport, is studied in this report to gain insights in transporting and
exporting coal efficiently. To place the South African industry in a wider
context, this literature study benchmarks the Australian export coal
industry, providing a better understanding of coal exporting technologies
and systems.
The operator of the coal line, running from the mines to the port of
Richards Bay, is a world leader in hauling the coal cost efficiently to
the coal terminal by implementing technological innovative systems.
Together with the well-equipped Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), being
the world's largest coal terminal, it forms the backbone of the South
African export coal industry. Added to these strong actors in the supply
chain are favourable conditions such as geographical and geological
advantages, cheap labour, and the benefits of a devaluating Rand.
The unskilled labour force, negative effects of the devaluating Rand for
acquiring mining equipment, and the limited reserves in the coalfields,
are some of the negative aspects of the South African export coal
industry.
Future improvements are
- Expanding the terminal and railing capacities
- Technological innovations in mining equipment to exploit coal reserves
more effectively and efficiently
- Training employees to create a more skilled workforce and increase
productivity
- Further organizational and operational improvements for COALlink
- Operating more than one coal line (Durban and Maputo) to reduce
dependency on Richards Bay coal line and offer choice to customers
- Organizing business according to Kyoto Protocol now, to meet future
environmental restrictions
Reports on Logistic Engineering (in Dutch)
Modified: 2002.08.29;
logistics@3mE.tudelft.nl
, TU Delft
/ 3mE
/ TT
/ LT.