October 2011
Our lead feature in this issue - Vantage brings two new mines into production - covers the activities of Vantage Goldfields, the ASX-listed (but wholly South African) company that has ambitions to produce at least 100 000 ounces of gold a year from its properties in the Barberton Greenstone Belt. Running the company is Mike McChesney, who has a very successful record of mining greenstone gold deposits in both the Barberton goldfield and Zimbabwe (where he was one of the personalities behind the small but reportedly highly profitable Maligreen project), and Dr Willo Stear, who was one of the co-founders of Venmyn Rand. They have brought into production the Lily underground mine as well as the Taylors mine, the latter forming part of the Barbrook Mines Complex.
In a second article on gold, we look at the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of the Otjikoto gold project near Otjikoto in Namibia. Prepared by SRK, the PEA suggests that Otjikoto has the potential to support an average annual production of 109 000 ounces over a 10-year Life of Mine. The estimated capex attached to the project is US$130 million. Currently, Namibia has only one gold producer - AngloGold Ashanti's Navachab mine.
October is the month in which Nedbank Capital announces the winners of its Green Mining Awards. This annual - and now very prestigious - competition was launched in 2006 and recognises "the important contribution that responsible, sustainable and environmentally aware mining and mineral beneficiation make to the economic development of South Africa and Africa."
The winner in the Sustainability Category this year was Kumba Iron Ore/Sishen Mine's ‘Rural Research Project'. There were joint winners in the other two categories in which awards were made. Anglo American Thermal Coal and BHP Billiton Aluminium SA jointly shared the honours in the Environmental Category, the winning entries being respectively a ‘Gypsum Housing Project' (Anglo American Thermal Coal) and ‘Turning Environmental Benefits into Community Projects' (BHP Billiton Aluminium SA). In the Socio-Economic Category the winning projects were Anglo American Thermal Coal's ‘HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme' and Kumba Iron Ore/Sishen Mine's ‘UGM Wellness Clinic'.
The field of exploration is covered in a profile of Geosearch, part of the Sentula Mining group, which is believed to be the biggest exploration drilling company in Africa. Geosearch is currently running at full tilt with 145 rigs in the field in 11 African countries. Its CEO Mike Fitzgerald says, however, that this number is likely to reduce somewhat as he believes the company now needs to consolidate after a period of very rapid growth.
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South Deep headgear wins SAISC steel award
An A-frame steel headgear, erected over the top of an existing concrete headgear, will allow the vent shaft at South Deep's Twin Shafts complex to act also as a rock hoisting shaft. The new headgear, the tallest of its type in the world at 87 m, recently won the Mining and Industrial Category at the annual awards of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC).
Joy Global poised to grow in surface mining market
Our cover story looks at Joy Global Africa, which represents the merger or integration of Joy Mining Machinery Africa and P&H MinePro Services Africa. Jason Savage, VP Africa of Joy Global Africa, points out that the integration of the two operations means that Joy now has a range of surface mining equipment - including shovels, walking draglines and large wheel loaders - that are increasingly in demand as open-pit mines in South Africa become ever bigger in scale.
Kipoi Stage 2 exhibits "robust economics"
Australia's Tiger Resources, which is following the lead of Anvil Mining in developing copper deposits in Katanga in the DRC in a phased manner, has announced that a scoping study on Stage 2 of its Kipoi mine has underlined the "robust economics" of the project, which will have an average annual production of42 350 tonnes of LME grade A copper metal. The payback on the initial capex of US$151,4 million is estimated at 15 months.
Sandpiper bulk sampling completing
Australia's Minemakers and its joint venture partners have reported the completion of the bulk sample programme as a major component of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Sandpiper marine phosphate project in Namibia. The DFS is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.
