Milestone at Saldanha Bay’s iron ore terminal

Cape Town - Forty years after it opened, Saldanha Bay’s bulk iron ore terminal will celebrate a milestone today when it reaches a billion tons in exports.

Most of South Africa's iron ore exports pass through the terminal, which boasts the ability to stockpile 4.5 million tons of ore of 13 different grades, with an electronic system to track and monitor the ore during offloading, stockpiling and loading onto vessels.

Saldanha Bay terminal manager Robert van Rooyen said the bulk terminal handled around 59 million tons annually, compared to the smaller multi-purpose terminal which handled about 7 million tons of iron ore.

“We are delighted with the success of the terminal and commitment that has been shown by the staff and management team, which has seen us go from the terminal's total handling capacity increasing gradually from 18 million tons per annum in 1976 to where we are today at 60 million tons per annum - an increase of 233 percent.”

The area surrounding the terminal resembles a Martian landscape, with the iron ore leaving traces of ochre dust everywhere.

Van Rooyen said the terminal was not operating at optimal capacity due to the oversupply of iron ore from Australia and Brazil, which has squeezed the price down to between $45 to $60 per ton, prompting Kumba Iron Ore to cut its production volumes.

Jan Pienaar, 60, who has been working at the terminal for 37 years, said things have changed drastically since the day he started in 1979 as a labourer.

Yesterday, he was leading the choir in song as workers celebrated the milestone.

“Things were very hectic back then. We only had two machines - one conveyor belt leading to the bulk carriers and another which came from the trains. If one broke down, the whole plant would come to a standstill.

“Today we are very privileged. We have double transport conveyor belts. If one breaks down, then we can use the other one,” said Pienaar.

The terminal offloads around 1.2 tons of iron ore annually for the adjacent Saldanha Steel mill, which is used for the production of steel products.

“The port is very mechanised and a lot of our equipment runs in automatic mode, so when a train is placed, an operator will put it in auto mode and the tipplers will automatically be fed by the mechanical arm.

“The conveyor belts will be running in sequence automatically. Everything is run on a computer system from a centralised control room,” said Van Rooyen.

Van Rooyen said the only reason the machines still have operators is to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Saldanha Bay remains the deepest port in South Africa at 21.5m, which makes it ideal for bulk carriers which transport iron ore.

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