16 INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2025 Wood Chip Operations – Richards Bay Turning our attention to our wood chipping operations, it is worth mentioning again the devastating fire of 2023 which led to an exceptionally demanding year at the Richards Bay Mill complex for the year under review. With both chipping lines down for a significant portion of the year, export volumes were understandably lower than previous years. 210 400 tonnes of Acacia, 45 500 tonnes of Eucalyptus and 80 000 tonnes of biomass were exported during the period. The site undertook a wide range of critical engineering activities — from the complex removal of two gantries at Richards Bay Wood Chips, each towering over 30m, to extensive yet painstaking clean-up operations involving burnt woodchips scattered across the premises. In addition, a significant portion of the year involved rebuilding and renewing the equipment and infrastructure damaged by the fire. These efforts ran in parallel with initiatives aimed at supporting growers. A key focus of the biomass project was to help members access urgently needed Eucalyptus markets. In February 2024, a mobile chipper was brought on site to support NCT in meeting its annual biomass contract obligations. This mobile chipping operation continued throughout the year, ensuring all contractual biomass volumes were fulfilled, and members’ timber was still able to be processed. At the same time, structural repairs to the concrete flooring and support columns of the western stockpile at Richards Bay Wood Chips progressed, with particular attention given to the biofuel stock area. Export reclaimers and conveyor repairs on the western stockpile were completed in April 2024. The first biofuel vessel was successfully loaded on 5 May 2024. For Acacia producers, a trans-shipment solution was introduced, enabling temporary storage at the Richards Bay mills and onward movement of Acacia to Durban. New Dabmar screens and an enhanced fines conveyor system were installed at BayFibre, significantly improving operational efficiency. The BayFibre rebuild was completed by early September, and production resumed on 11 September 2024. A temporary chute was installed at Richards Bay Wood Chips to handle Acacia and Eucalyptus stock, enabling chip production from 16 November 2024. From this moment on, both chipping lines ran simultaneously. In the aftermath of the devastating fire, the critical question will always be related to what measures have been implemented to prevent a recurrence of such a disaster? In response, a comprehensive redesign and enhancement of the entire fire reticulation system has been undertaken. This included NCT’s mobile response capability, increasing hydrant pressures, expanding water storage capacity, and upgrading the ring-feed infrastructure to support our newly commissioned, state-of-the-art rapid response unit. Additionally, the BayFibre ablution facilities have been repurposed into a fully operational, permanent fire station. To further strengthen our fire prevention and response capabilities, we have introduced a range of advanced early warning and detection systems. Wood Chip Operations – Durban Export volumes for the period saw a decline compared to the strong performance the previous year. 315 200 tonnes of Acacia and 15 800 tonnes of E.Smithii were exported for the period. The drop was primarily due to the significant Wood Chipping Operations and Exports
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