Name and Location
Iron-ore export channel expansion, Northern Cape and Western Cape, South Africa.

Client
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Kumba Iron Ore and Assmang, a joint venture between African Rainbow Minerals and Assore.

Project Description
The iron-ore line is the main export channel for iron-ore from the mines in the Northern Cape to the Port of Saldanha.

Rail capacity will increase to 60-million tons a year and port capacity to 58-million tons a year over the quay wall, resulting in targeted export iron-ore volumes increasing to 59.5-million tons a year in 2014.

The execution of Transnet’s Market Demand Strategy (MDS) will result in port capacity eventually increasing to 82.5-million tons by the 2020 financial year.

The rail upgrade plans include an increase in rolling stock (wagons and locomotives), the upgrading of electricity infrastructure, the construction of additional train passing loops and a 32 km rail link to service the new Sishen South mine.

The inclusion of new locomotives is part of Transnet’s fleet renewal programme, which is intended to improve efficiency, productivity, reliability and safety.

Infrastructure at the bulk terminal at the Port of Saldanha currently comprises two rotary tipplers, four stacker reclaimers, two shiploaders and 25 conveying systems, providing the terminal with a capacity to offload 10 000 t/h onto a ship. However, it is expected that infrastructure will be expanded to accommodate the expansion to 82.5-million tons a year.

Environmental-impact studies are needed tor establish new infrastructure on about 141 ha at the port. The plan is to reclaim an additional 50 ha within Saldanha Bay. This will be done by dredger. The shipping channel will be deepened and the material recovered will be used for the construction of new shipping berths.

Further, the aim is also to fill in the so-called Oyster Dam, to create more space for stockpiling iron-ore within the confines of Saldanha Bay.

Value
Transnet’s investment in the iron-ore expansion project and locomotive acquisitions for the year ended 2012 amounted to R920-million.

The expected cost to increase capacity to 82.5-million tons a year on the iron-ore line is estimated at R19.3-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
All baseline scope required to increase port capacity to 60-million tons has been completed, with only ancillary works under way, including the completion of the Kolomela link line between Postmasburg and loop 18 on the iron-ore line. This constitutes the first network addition of 32 km.

Recently completed work includes the demolition of the old sampling building at the Port of Saldanha, the completion of a rail triangle to enable the more efficient handling of trains at Salkor yard and the installation of electrical equipment to reduce electrical consumption at the Port of Saldanha.

Sixteen of the additional 32 locomotives needed to facilitate the increase in iron-ore capacity to 60-million tons have been delivered, 14 of which have been tested and accepted into operations, with two locomotives undergoing commissioning and acceptance testing.

The rail replacement programme has been executed as planned, with 302 km of track replaced. This has contributed to a reduction of more than 60% in rail breaks, compared with the previous year.

Infrastructure upgrades have also included the replacement of 51 243 sleepers and 67 km of ballast screening.

Rail stress management will continue and all thermite welds will be x-rayed for defects. Thermite welds older than eight years will be removed and replaced as a precautionary measure

Key Contracts and Suppliers
SHE Cape Environmental (environmental-impact assessment study); Concor Roads & Earthworks (earthworks, trackworks, overhead track equipment and drainage), Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon, or WBHO, Lennings Rail Services and Racec (primary contractors); DCD-Dorbyl's rolling stock division, or RSD (three-axle bogies); Infraset Railway Products (precast concrete sleepers); and Rocla, subcontracted by Concor (railway line pipes, culverts and signal boxes); Venus Railways Solutions, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co (electric locomotives main contractor); Toshiba Corporation (electrical equipment and technical support for electric locomotives); and Union Carriage and Wagon, or UCW (manufacturing and assembling of electric locomotives).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Transnet press office, Viwe Tlaleane, +27 11 308 2384 or email Viwe.Tlaleane@transnet.net.
Concor Roads & Earthworks, tel +27 11 495 2222 or fax +27 11 495 2496.
Infraset Railway Products, tel +27 11 813 2340.
Lennings Rail Services, tel +27 11 898 6800, fax +27 11 914 4780/4781 or email enquiries@lennings.co.za.
Mitsui & Co corporate communications, tel +81 3 3285 7596 or fax +91 3 3285 9819.
Racec, tel +27 21 531 7540.
Rocla, tel +27 11 670 7600, fax +27 11 472 2141 or email info@rocla.co.za.
SHE Cape Environmental, tel +27 21 200 8581, fax +27 86 548 2260 or email info@shecape.co.za.
UCW, tel +27 11 814 4411 or +27 11 814 5456, fax +27 11 814 5156 or email info@ucw.co.za.
WBHO, tel +27 11 321 7220 or fax +27 11 887 4364.