Iron ore dust on the West Coast
The Port of Saldanha’s iron ore terminal is one of South Africa’s most important export routes. It is licensed to handle up to 60 million tonnes of iron ore a year, carried by rail from the Northern Cape and loaded onto ships for export. RDAG wants it to keep running, growing and modernising.
But dust from the terminal settles on the towns around it, and the cost of that dust is carried by people who have no say in how the terminal is run.
Who carries the cost
Dust that settles on homes, cars, guesthouses, restaurants and boats is a cost moved off the terminal’s books and onto everyone else’s. Residents pay for cleaning, repainting and repairs. Businesses pay for upkeep and lose customers. Tourism, property, aquaculture and small business, the sectors that could broaden employment on this coast, are held back.
Industry and community don’t have to be in conflict. They conflict wherever the boundary of a firm’s accountability is drawn tighter than the boundary of its effects.
The towns most affected are Saldanha, Vredenburg, Langebaan and St Helena Bay.
The record
Dust control at the terminal has been promised to this community since 2016. The licences and decisions below are public documents.
The licence then in force (AEL WCWD013, varied on 24 October 2023) gave Transnet until 2 September 2026 to complete three dust-control projects: cleaning the conveyor-belt network, a misting system at the ship loader, and upgrades to the dust-suppressant dosing plant.
The West Coast District Municipality refused Transnet’s application to renew the licence. It later withdrew the refusal on the grounds that it was not the competent authority, and the application moved to national government.
The national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) issued a new five-year licence. The dated project schedule from 2023 does not appear in it. Timeframes are given as “immediately” or as set out in a dust management plan, and the number and location of ambient air monitoring stations are left to be agreed with the licensing authority.
RDAG appealed against the new licence.
What RDAG wants
- Exports to continue, and the port to reach its full potential.
- Dust obligations in the licence that are dated, measurable and enforceable.
- An ambient monitoring network specified in the licence itself, with the results made public.
- The clean-up of dust that has already built up across Saldanha Bay, Langebaan, Vredenburg and St Helena Bay.
- The same standard of dust control that ore ports achieve elsewhere in the world.
Questions people ask
Is RDAG against the port?
No. RDAG supports the port, the iron ore export corridor and the jobs and revenue they bring. We are not asking for the terminal to stop or to handle less ore. We are asking for a licence with dust obligations that can be checked.
Who licenses the terminal?
The current licence was issued by DFFE, the national department, on 2 September 2026. Earlier licences were issued by the West Coast District Municipality. Requests for a dust inspection still go to the municipality, and our inspection form sends them there for you.
What does the licence require?
Among other things, it caps iron ore at 60 million tonnes a year, requires continuous monitoring of fine dust (PM10, PM2.5 and total suspended particulates), and requires Transnet to share all monitoring data at the public stakeholder forum.
Does reporting dust make a difference?
Yes. Each report adds a dated entry to the record of where and when dust falls. That record is the evidence RDAG puts before the licensing authorities, and it is harder to dismiss than a general complaint.
What can I do?
Report dust when you see it, join RDAG (it’s free), sign up for our monthly update at the bottom of this page, and, if you can, donate.
Seen red dust? Report it.
Every report adds to the record. It takes about two minutes on WhatsApp.