State-owned Transnet Port Terminals’ (TPT’s) Pendoring inland terminal, in Brits, exceeded its monthly average throughput, moving 100 000 t of chrome, in June.
TPT said in a statement on Monday the terminal generally moves about 90 000 t a month of chrome.
There are currently six 72-wagon trains commuting from Pendoring to the Richards Bay port on a weekly basis, servicing emerging and seasoned chrome ore miners.
The Pendoring inland terminal is a collaboration between two Transnet operating divisions. TPT manages the offloading of cargo from the tipper trucks coming from the mines onto the stockpiles, which it also manages on a day-to-day basis.
It then loads the cargo according to the planning schedule on Transnet Freight Rail’s trains, which move the cargo to the port in Richards Bay.
The majority of the cargo handled at the terminal is bound for China.
The Pendoring terminal has seen steady year-on-year growth, and achieved 800 000 t for the 2018/19 financial year, which is more than 1 000% higher than when it started operating in 2015.
Pendoring is one of three inland terminals operated by TPT, with the other two being Newcon, in KwaZulu-Natal, and Lehatlha, in the Northern Cape.
TPT said the establishment of inland terminals helped to give emerging miners access to international markets, integrate the supply value chain and increase opportunities for cargo handling.