Diversified mining group Kumba Resources is willing to participate not only in the financing of rail infrastructure but also the operation of the rail system for the transport of its iron ore and coal products, if necessary, Kumba CEO Dr Con Fauconnier said on Wednesday.
Once the current negotiations between Transnet and Kumba are over, the two parties will look at the need for Kumba’s involvement in rail financing and operations. If Kumba does get involved in the financing, it will result in an adjustment to the rail tariff it pays, Fauconnier said.
Kumba is a major user of rail for the transport of its coal and iron-ore products to its domestic and international clients.
Negotiations with transport parastatal Transnet on the expansion of the Orex iron line between Kumba’s mine in the Northern Cape and Saldanha are going very well, Fauconnier added.
Kumba and Transnet have signed an agreement in principle and now are working on a detailed agreement.
On the empowerment front, Fauconnier said progress is being made on finding an empowerment partner but the time schedule for a possible transaction is difficult to judge.
Kumba has previously said that it will make an application to convert its mining rights in 2007.
Earlier in the week, Anglo American South Africa CEO Lazarus Zim said that there could be some news soon about an empowerment deal at Kumba.
However, Fauconnier said that Zim’s words had been interpreted too literally.
On the appeal of the Hope Downs arbitration ruling, Fauconnier said that Kumba has lodged its application with the Supreme Court of Western Australia, submitted its affidavits and is waiting for the legal process to take its course.
In December last year, Kumba announced that it had been unsuccessful with its Hope Downs arbitration, which is a 50:50 joint venture in Western Australia with Hancock Prospecting. — I-Net Bridge