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Bloomberg reports that Glencore and Seriti Resources are in talks to cut hundreds of jobs as their ability to export coal is stymied by inefficiencies at the state-run freight company.
Transnet, which transports the fuel from mines in Mpumalanga to Richards Bay Coal Terminal, has been hobbled by sabotage, cable theft and aging equipment. While it has taken steps to improve security and ease procurement rules to lower costs, performance has declined. In a statement calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said: “Transnet’s operations are a crucial cog in the country’s economy. “The situation is very dire.” Glencore has started a so-called Section 189 process by beginning consultations with labour on job cuts. The process could affect more than 200 workers at its iMpunzi coal mining complex. The potential job cuts at Seriti’s Klipspruit opencast mine could be more than 600. Lower coal prices have also added pressure on operations. Miners have tried to get around the railway challenges by using trucks to transport coal from mines to the coast, but that became less attractive after prices dropped. Ramaphosa described the constraints as “a crisis of catastrophic proportions” in a meeting with key exporters in April and created a task force that included private companies to look for solutions.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Paul Burkhardt at Moneyweb
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