14
MODERN MINING
May 2014
MINING News
Aureus Mining Inc, listed on the TSX
and AIM, reports it will engage in owner
mining at its New Liberty gold project,
located within the Southern Block of the
company’s 100 %-owned Bea Mountain
mining licence in Liberia. MonuRent
(Liberia) Limited has been awarded a con-
tract to provide and fully maintain a new
mining fleet in support of the owner min-
ing operations over the life of mine.
Aureus says that MonuRent has provided
a fleet over the past 18months for the clear-
ing, civils and earthworks at New Liberty
Fleet rental model adopted for New Liberty
during the construction and development
phase under a separate contract and that
overall fleet availability to date is 92 %.
In terms of the new contract, Monu
Rent guarantees a minimum fleet
availability of 85 % and will assists with
the training of local operators. Aureus
believes that the arrangement will allow
it to focus on its core strengths and activi-
ties in respect of the mine planning and
scheduling, removing the responsibility
and obligation to purchase and maintain
the fleet over the LOM.
According to Aureus, the fleet rental
model in mining is an established global
concept and is used extensively in
Australia, North and South America, and
south-east Asia.
Aureus will be responsible for the open-
pit mining, geology, survey and planning
and will provide the operators and other
in-pit personnel to undertake the mining
and pumping activities. Thinus Strydom,
Aureus’ GM, will be responsible for man-
aging the mining operations, having
performed this role previously at the Bisha,
Loulo and Emperor mines. The majority
of the mining team are already working
at New Liberty and are currently in the
planning phase for the pre-strip and the
subsequent mining operations.
MonuRent is an international com-
pany with a proven track record of heavy
equipment solutions and services across
West Africa. It was founded in 2010 with
the vision of becoming the leading equip-
ment rental and operational outsourcing
business in Africa. Its current fleet of equip-
ment consists of over 350 units operating
in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and
Botswana.
The US$152 million New Liberty project
is expected to have an eight-year mine life
and annual production of 119 000 ounces
for the first six years of production. It is due
to pour its first gold in the first quarter of
2015.
A recent view of steelwork erection at the New Liberty site in Liberia (photo: Aureus).
Ironveld plc has announced a summary
of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)
assessing the economic viability of its pig
iron and ferro-vanadium project. Located
in Limpopo Province, approximately 80 km
north of Mokopane, the project will con-
sist of a 15 MW DC smelter with planned
production of 41 966 tonnes of high purity
iron, 415 tonnes of vanadium (in slag)
and 8 269 tonnes of titanium (in slag) per
annum from late 2015.
The study confirms the project’s viabil-
ity to deliver an exceptionally high grade
iron product (99,5 % Fe) called High Purity
Iron (HPI) which commands a premium to
the pig iron price. Vanadium and titanium
slag containing commercial grades of
vanadium and titanium will also be pro-
Ironveld releases results of positive DFS
duced and sold. Project life is in excess of
100 years and highly scalable.
Ore from the main magnetite layer
on the company’s properties can be fed
directly to the proposed smelter without
the need for beneficiation.
The study shows the ability of the
project to deliver an annual turnover of
£26,4 million with an EBITDA of £8,1 mil-
lion per annum (based upon current costs
and commodity values). The project is also
projected to be cash flow positive from the
commencement of production. The capital
expenditure is projected to be approxi-
mately £36 million, a proportion of which
will be funded out of early cash flow from
the project.
The robust nature of the project has
apparently attracted interest from a num-
ber of capital providers.
Commenting on the study, Peter Cox,
CEO of Ironveld, said: “We are delighted to
have completed the DFS and to be able to
show that the 15 MW smelter is a robust
project and will be cash flow positive from
commencement of production. Following
our smelting campaign last year, we have
been testing our products with potential
end users and have generated significant
interest in the products and particularly
for the HPI product which commands a
premium in price and enhances project eco-
nomics. The ability to sell the titanium slag
has also added to the project’s robustness.
“This is a very exciting time for the
company and we remain on track to com-
mence construction later this year with
first production scheduled for late 2015.”
