Our lead article in this issue looks at JSE-listed coal trader and miner Wescoal, which last year brought on line its new Elandspruit opencast mine near Middelburg. Elandspruit, along with the Wescoal Processing complex (acquired in 2014 and since enhanced), will provide the foundation for Wescoal’s mining division for years to come.
According to Wescoal’s CEO, Waheed Sulaiman, the group’s ambition is to become an 8 Mt/a (ROM) coal producer.
Also featured this month is a country focus on Botswana, which looks in particular at developments in the Kalahari Copperbelt located south and south-west of Maun. The main players in the area are US-based Cupric Canyon, which is planning an underground mine at its Zone 5 site, which will have an initial production of approximately 50 000 t/a of copper (in concentrate), and Australia’s MOD Resources, which earlier this year made a major discovery at its T3 site. The company – which is in joint venture with Metal Tiger on T3 – now has four diamond rigs working at T3 and is targeting a maiden resource in the third quarter of this year.
Still in Botswana, we also give an update on Lucara’s open-pit diamond mine in the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) which in one phenomenal week in November last year produced the second and sixth largest gem quality diamonds ever mined. Karowe – which in May 2015 commissioned an innovative Large Diamond Recovery (LDR) circuit – is now believed to account for about 60 % of the world’s 100-carat-plus diamond production, producing eight such stones in the first quarter of this year alone.
SENET awarded EPCM contract for Yanfolila
South Africa’s SENET will carry out the detailed engineering of Hummingbird’s 1,24 Mt/a open-pit Yanfolila gold project in Mali and also manage the mine construction. Yanfolila – which will produce an average of 107 000 ounces of gold a year – is due to enter production by the end of 2017.
Alphamin updates Feasibility Study on Bisie tin project
Alphamin Resources has updated the Feasibility Study for its Bisie tin project in the DRC based on an increase in Bisie’s mineral resources. The project requires an estimated initial capex of US$124,2 million to support the construction of an underground mine, a process plant and associated facilities. The Feasibility Study estimates that the mine will produce an average of 10 750 tonnes of tin a year once commissioned.
Major milestone for Mabesekwa
Shumba Energy, a Botswana-based energy company dual listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, has reported that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for its Mabesekwa Export Independent Power Producer (MEIPP) project has been approved by Botswana’s Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism.
Exciting T3 discovery opens up options for MOD Resources
Until recently Australian explorer MOD Resources was focused on its Mahumo copper project in Botswana’s Kalahari Copperbelt, which could be developed as a ‘starter’ underground mine. However, the recent discovery of the highly promising – and potentially open-pittable – T3 deposit, some 20 km to the south of Mahumo, has opened up new options for MOD.
Platinum hauler keeps rolling with Scania
Transport contractor EC Blaauw has grown its fleet of Scania trucks in a demanding 24-7 contract with a platinum producer near Rustenburg in South Africa’s North-West province. The company recently added another six Scania P410 tippers to its fleet.
