GLENCORE said it would consider restarting coal projects in South Africa as rail export capacity was restored to as much as 70 million tons (Mt) over time. “For the first time – having had to restructure this business when it fell below 50Mt per annum – we’re now actually looking at some growth projects to bring coal on, to meet the improving rail performance,” said Murray Houston, CEO of Glencore Coal in South Africa. Private sector efforts to recapitalise and reskill state-owned Transnet Freight Rail has resulted in an improvement in coal volumes exported over the last two years. Thermal coal exports last year totalled 57.66Mt compared to 52.08Mt in 2024, said Richards Bay Coal Terminal, the privately-owned export terminal in January. Coal exports hit a 40-year low in 2023 of 47.21Mt when TFR failures were at their worst.