South African copper producer Palabora Mining Co. (PAM.JO) said Friday it will truck ore to alternate railway stations while repairs are carried out on a bridge damaged by a train derailment, halting shipments headed from its mining operations to the port at Richards Bay.

The company, a unit of Rio Tinto PLC (RTP), said it will use another station to load magnetite which will instead be shipped to Maputo Port. It will use a second station to load bulk vermiculite that is in containers.

Foskor Pty. Ltd., which also makes use of the same rail line as Palabora, will use another station to load its phosphate for shipment to Richards Bay, it said.

The bridge on the branch line was destroyed Sept. 20 by a loaded train operated by state transportation company Transnet Ltd. Transnet estimates the bridge is likely to be out of service for at least six to eight weeks, Palabora said.

It said in the meantime the magnetite, a type of iron ore, and phosphate will be transported by road at a rate of as many as 350 trucks a day.

Palabora sold 1.4 million metric tons of magnetite in the first six months of the year, which it said in August would have been 120,000 higher if shipments hadn't been disrupted by a strike in June by Transnet rail workers.

The company is 58% owned by Rio Tinto and 17% by Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN), with other investors holding the remainder.

-By Robb M. Stewart, Dow Jones Newswires; +27 11 783 7848; robb.stewart@dowjones.com
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Rio Tinto Charts.
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Rio Tinto Charts.