CoAL confirms talks with Transnet Freight Rail

Coal of Africa, the coal mining and development company, confirmed today, Friday 25 September 2009, that it is progressing discussions with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), whereby it continues to explore the possibilities of a public-private partnership (PPP) on the Maputo rail corridor.

The company said discussions with TFR are designed to ensure the availability of rail capacity to match the port capacity CoAL has secured through agreements with Grindrod, as previously advised on August 25 2008.

As per its announcement on 28 January 2009, CoAL's export capacity via the Matola terminal in Maputo is currently 1 million tons per annum (mtpa). This is expected to rise to 3 mtpa by late 2010 with further potential to reach 13 mtpa following an additional 10 mtpa expansion via the creation of a new dedicated coal export terminal.

Although terms and conditions have yet to be finalised, TFR and CoAL are committed to the process, and are exploring all options to ensure a solution is found that will meet the overall objective of facilitating the use of the Maputo corridor as a viable export route for coal producers, and an alternative to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, it said.

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