Rail and exporter sources said that a derailment on the Richards Bay coal line near Ermelo on Thursday is unlikely to result in large tonnage lost.

They said that the derailment was caused by theft of power cables, a common problem on the South African rail system.

Industry sources said that a series of derailments in December and early January plus industrial action cut at least 3 million tonnes from South Africa's exports at the tail end of 2010 and beginning of this year.

They said that South Africa is unlikely to be able to export 60 million tonnes in 2011 and the final total may be even lower if transportation continues to be beset by problems.

(Sourced from www.ibtimes.com)