Industry intelligence
Look at value in the ground
Immense value is held in the ground of old
mining sites and the surrounding communities,
which just need the right mining approach and
vision to equitably contribute to the economic
growth of South Africa. According to Fikile
Mashinini, managing director of Springs-based
Ncamiso Mining, Ncamiso, through its land
rehabilitation projects, has recovered more than
600kg of gold, valued at about R300-million,
from roads and developments on historical mine
sites in the past two years.
The company is celebrating its 10th birthday
this year and Mashinini says they pride
themselves in their efforts towards a more
balanced industry that encourages foreign
investment.
Over the past decade, Ncamiso has created over
500 jobs in local communities and has supported
over 50 SMMEs, of which 80% are 100%
black-owned and locally based in their areas of
operation.
According to Mashinini, transformation in
the mining industry is very slow and access to
mineral wealth is very difficult. “Government
must do something about the exorbitant
rehabilitation guarantees. The process of
application is too slow and very discouraging for
new entrants in the mining industry. Thus, there
is a need for radical transformation, uplifting the
mine workers and the communities surrounding
the old mines. Education and skills development
must be key towards transformation,” he says.
Gamsberg moves closer to production
First blast at Gamsberg. The mine is now ready to
deliver its first zinc in September 2018.
PETRA SELLS ITS
STAKE IN EKAPA
London-listed Petra
Diamonds and its black
economic empowerment
partners have sold their
combined 75.9% interest
in the Ekapa Mining Joint
Venture (KEM JV). The
KEM JV consists of the
Kimberley underground
mine, extensive tailings
retreatment programmes,
and a high-volume
treatment plant, all
located in and around the
historic diamond mining
centre of Kimberley in
South Africa. Petra sold
its share to its JV partner
Ekapa Mining for an
amount of about R300-
million.
Petra Diamonds’
board of directors found
that KEM JV is better
suited to an operator
with an owner-manager
approach that can focus
on the optimisation of
these assets. According
to the company, this
approach, in turn, will
free up considerable
Petra management time,
which can be focused
on the key assets of the
business — in particular
its Finsch mine, close to
Kimberley in the Northern
Cape, and the Cullinan
mine, near Pretoria in
Gauteng. The board
concluded that such a
decision will reduce cash
outflow, given that it will
take time to ensure KEM
JV can make a positive
cash contribution to the
business, while it will also
reduce operational risk in
the context of the wider
Petra Group.
Work at Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg
mine close to Aggeneys in the Northern Cape
Province of South Africa is progressing at a
steady pace. Vedanta expects Gamsberg to
deliver its first zinc in September 2018.
According to a company update, waste
pre-stripping was completed by the end of
June 2018, and ore production has commenced.
Plant and infrastructure construction activity
peaked in the first quarter of 2018–19, with
almost 3 000 personnel employed at the site.
Of those employed on site, 1 050 are from
the Northern Cape and 550 from the local
Khai-Ma Local Municipality.
More than 38km of water pipeline with
pumping and storage, and 20km of powerlines
with a main receiving substation have been
commissioned and are now delivering water and
power at the required capacity. Construction of
the 117ha HDPE-lined tailings storage facility
is complete, and it is ready to receive tailings.
Cold commissioning of the first section of the
plant, comprising the crusher and the conveying
systems, is also complete.
[4] MINING MIRROR SEPTEMBER 2018
Gamsberg has started feeding ore to the front
end of the plant (run-of-mine crusher, conveyor,
and coarse ore stock pile sections) to build the
required crushed ore stockpile. The building up
of crushed ore stock in readiness for feeding
ore to the mills and downstream flotation and
dewatering sections of the plant started at the
end of July 2018, and the first ore feed to the
semi-autogenous a