The two small towns which are crucial to South Africa’s economy

The Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay ports handle over 80% of South Africa’s cargo, making them vital hubs in the country’s logistics network and economy.

These two ports are involved in the export of bulk commodities, which account for a significant share of South Africa’s foreign trade.

Richards Bay is one of the leading coal export terminals in the world, and Saldanha Bay is responsible for a large share of South Africa’s iron ore exports.

Durban and Cape Town are widely seen as the ports where most of South Africa’s exports take place, and they are indeed core to the economy.

However, data from Stats SA show that Durban and Cape Town only account for 8.3% of the total cargo handled at local ports.

In contrast, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay handle 44% and 38% of all cargo at South African ports, respectively.

As the two main ports through which South Africa’s valuable commodities are exported, these small towns play a crucial role in sustaining over 240,000 mining jobs.

Apart from employment, these exports are core to the country’s foreign exchange earnings, balance of payments, and economic growth.

The sale of these commodities is also a crucial part of South Africa’s fiscus, with the tax revenue generated often being a major factor in the government’s financial health.

Richards Bay

Richards Bay is one of South Africa’s busiest ports and is responsible for the bulk export of coal through its terminal. It is the largest export facility of its kind in Africa.

Although originally built to handle only coal exports, the port has become South Africa’s premier bulk export facility, handling other commodities in addition to coal.

The idea for another port near Durban goes back well over a century, when the Natal Colony government decided that Richards Bay would be a better choice than St Lucia.

Richards Bay is naturally a good harbour, having a protected bay that could be relatively easily deepened, and the ability to integrate it into the existing railway infrastructure.

For 70 years, nothing happened, despite various studies being undertaken to analyse the feasibility of an additional port near Durban.

In 1972, the government proposed building a harbour in Richards Bay and awarded a contract to a European consortium to construct it.

It also began investing in upgrading the existing railways from Mpumalanga, the site of South Africa’s largest coal mines, to Richards Bay.

Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) was opened in 1976 with an initial capacity of 12 million tonnes per annum. It has since grown to 91 million tonnes per annum.

The port has rapidly expanded and now boasts a 2.2-kilometre-long quay with six berths and four shiploaders. It also has a storage capacity of 8.2 million tonnes of coal.

RBCT gained a reputation for efficiency and reliability, setting a new world record in 2006 by loading and exporting 409,809 tonnes of coal in 24 hours.

The terminal has partnerships with many large miners, including Thungela, Sasol, Glencore, Exxaro, Seriti, and Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals.

Saldanha Bay

Saldanha Bay began operating in the same year as Richards Bay, with its first iron ore exports to the Middle East in 1976.

As the largest deep-water port in the Southern Hemisphere, Saldanha Bay is ideally suited for the export of bulk commodities.

The port remains Africa’s largest iron ore exporter, with the Sishen-Saldanha railway corridor transporting the commodity from mines deep within the Northern Cape.

As with Richards Bay, it has diversified its export capacity, with its Iron Ore Terminal complemented by a smaller Multi-Purpose Terminal.

Saldanha Bay has an extensive history as a port, first discovered in 1601 by Dutch explorer Van Spillbergen.

However, it took over three centuries for a modern port to be developed at Saldanha, as feasibility studies only began in 1969.

Construction began in 1973 and was completed quickly, with the first iron ore export leaving the terminal in September 1976.

Private customers began exporting iron ore in the 1980s, using the terminal to ship raw iron ore before the Saldanha Steel Mill came into operation in 1998.

Transnet estimates that over 1.1 billion tonnes of iron ore have been exported through the terminal since its completion, with around 25 vessels loaded every month.

The operation is capital-intensive due to the mines’ distance from the port and the terminal’s 24/7 operation. It only pauses on Labour Day, Christmas, and New Year’s.

Apart from iron ore, Saldanha Bay is increasingly seen as ideal for the expansion of South Africa’s oil and gas industry due to its natural depth.

Its Multi-Purpose Terminal has become increasingly important for manganese exports, with two of its berths dedicated to vessels carrying this commodity.