【Ferro-alloys.com】:Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has successfully concluded the yearly ten-day maintenance shutdown of the Port Elizabeth Bulk Terminal to ensure the seamless handling of manganese for the next 12 months.

This was a planned initiative carried out in agreement with customers during which bulk handling equipment such as tipplers, stackers, reclaimers, ship-loaders, feeders and more than 10 km of conveyor belt system were all serviced. 

The terminal has capacity to handle six-million tonnes a year of manganese, with the industry continuing to grow in response to global demand.

TPT Eastern Cape terminal managing executive Wandisa Vazi says it was important to ensure the maintenance works started as scheduled and that the working environment was safe for employees.

“The plant has to operate at acceptable levels and sustain export activities and this is why we plan this shutdown thoroughly,” she adds.

The primary objective of the maintenance shutdown was to raise levels of equipment reliability and availability.

The Port Elizabeth Bulk Terminal is a crucial part in the export of manganese as it drives the economic growth of the region and that of the country.

South Africa hosts more than 70% of the world’s highest-grade manganese.

Most of it moves through the terminal although it is mined in the Northern Cape, with China, India, Japan, Ukraine and South Korea being the top global consumers. 

• [Editor:Alakay]