The Port Elizabeth Bulk Terminal has concluded its annual ten-day maintenance shutdown.
The terminal planned the shutdown in agreement with port users so that bulk handling equipment including tipplers, stackers, reclaimers, ship-loaders, feeders and more than ten kilometres of its conveyor belt system could be serviced to ensure the seamless handling of manganese over the next twelve months.
The primary objective of the maintenance shutdown was to raise levels of equipment reliability and availability.
Transnet Port Terminals Eastern Cape Managing Executive, Wandisa Vazi, said the shutdown was important to ensure a safe working environment.
“The plant has to operate at acceptable levels and sustain export activities and this is why we plan this shutdown thoroughly,” she said.
She commended the efficiency of the engineering team, which executed all required tasks on time.
South Africa is home to more than 70% of the world’s highest-grade manganese, which is mined in the Northern Cape and mostly exported via the terminal to countries like China, India, Japan, Ukraine, and South Korea, which are the top five global consumers.
The terminal has capacity to handle six million tons of manganese annually, as the industry continues to expand with growing global demand.
