S. Africa Unrest Hits Chinese Manganese Supply from Key Exporter
While the state-owned ports, freight rail and pipelines operator Transnet SOC Ltd. said Friday its port and terminal operations at Durban are slowly starting to normalize, it may take two weeks for port disruptions to ease, affecting the export of manganese to China, according to analysts.
“Things have not stabilized or returned to normal yet, so we will still see some extended delays as we look to restart the operations,” Wilson said. “The ports also have a big backlog to catch up on.”
Separately, Assmang’s manganese and iron ore mining operations continue to operate normally, he said.
Become an Insider
Do not underestimate the knock-on effect of Force Majeure to suppliers down the chain. The destruction of business will take years to rectify. The violence at RBM and the bush off reaction of Gwede Mantashe should have signaled the burning fuse of violence in the province.