Richards Bay coal terminal

Richards Bay, South Africa --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 09 March 2010 - Coal exports from Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) ‒ Africa’s biggest coal export port ‒ dropped by 5% in February.

A statement e-mailed by RBCT today revealed that shipments had decreased to 4.94 million metric tonnes from 5.2 million tonnes a year earlier. At the February rate, the terminal would ship about 60.5 million tonnes this year, it added.

Coal shipped through the port declined to an average US$83 a tonne in February from US$85.92 a tonne in January, according to data by McCloskey Group Limited on Bloomberg.

The RBCT statement added that stockpiles had risen to 2.98 million tonnes at the end of February from 2.71 million tonnes in January. The terminal received 5.19 million tonnes in February, when 714 trains offloaded coal.

The terminal is due to boost its annual export capacity to 91 million tonnes by the end of this month. Shipments came to 61.14 million tonnes last year.