The theft of coal cargo in South Africa’s road freight sector by syndicates colluding with corruptible truck drivers can be successfully curbed through weighbridge automation and load-sample testing, a technology service provider says.

An interventionist strategy has a two-fold end goal: on a macroeconomic level, it will help to prevent breakdowns at coal-fired power stations because of sub-grade commodities, and on the load-supplier end, it will help transporters root out driver corruption within their ranks, an executive of JustWeights explains.

“We have moved the payment point for a load of coal from the mines to power stations. Once a truck arrives, we measure the load using an unmanned weighbridge system and test the coal using cost-effective truck auger systems.

“If a load is found to have even remotely changed from the moment it was picked up to where it is delivered, a sample of coal is taken and sent for independent lab analysis to confirm the contractual value of the coal delivered,” they said.

Auger testing can be done in three minutes and is regarded as an infallible process to protect Eskom and other end-users from the disastrous effects of burning sub-grade coal, an assessment that XMP Consulting confirmed.

Coal-swapping is a process where loads are redirected to illegal coal yards, where high-quality coal is exchanged for low-quality coal, which directly impacts load shedding, the executive from JustWeights said. The low-quality coal, also known as discard-grade coal, has a high ash and abrasive index content that can damage boilers and their tubes when it enters Eskom’s power stations, causing turbines to be taken offline.

Automated and unmanned weighbridges secure tonnages, and truck auger systems ensure coal quality. The costs of these systems are below the salaried costs of weighbridge operators and get rid of fraud and collusion across the coal supply chain.“We have to implement these interventions,” the executive said. “Coal theft costs the country millions, and finding solutions to combat commodity crime has been too slow.”

He added that JustWeights’ technology could be used across the bulk materials sector, especially those using weighbridges to prevent load interference. However, auger testing was specifically developed to test the integrity of coal. “It’s easy to implement, eliminates collusion by ruling out human interference, and costs less

than 0.1% of the value traded on the coal market. It’s a low-cost solution against coal theft costing the country billions.”