24
MODERN MINING
May 2014
LEAD-ZINC
T
he Namib project is best described
as a brownfield development. Says
French: “The deposit was discov-
ered in 1932 but it wasn’t exploit-
ed until the late 1960s, when a
shallow underground mine was established to
extract lead. In the 1970s it was realised that
the orebody could also support a zinc mining
operation and a zinc flotation circuit was add-
ed to the plant. The combined zinc and lead
operation then continued until 1991 when
the mine was close down, a result – we un-
derstand – of falling commodity prices at the
time, as well as some labour problems.
“As near as we can estimate, approximately
1 million tonnes of ore was mined over the
24-year life of the mine. This resulted in the
production of over 100 000 tonnes of lead
and zinc concentrate and more than a million
ounces of silver. After net smelter returns, we
calculate that this would have yielded revenues
in excess of US$100 million at current com-
modity prices.”
French, who started his career with Merrill
Lynch and has 25 years’ experience in interna-
tional capital markets and the junior resource
sector, says North River purchased the project
in 2009. “At that point, it was in the hands of
Kalahari Minerals,” he recalls. “That company
had a big involvement in the Rössing South
project, now Husab, which had recently been
discovered, and wanted to dispose of what it
considered its non-core assets, including the
Namib property.
“Once the acquisition went through, it took
us some time to properly focus on the pro
ject, as we had a number of assets at that point
demanding our attention, but we finally got
going in earnest in 2011. We’ve made excellent
progress since then. We’ve dewatered the low-
est two levels of the mine, which had flooded,
and we’ve pulled all the scrap out of the work-
ings. Essentially, we’re ready to start mining.
Everyone has been surprised at the pace at
which we’ve moved and so far we’re on budget.
Namib lead-zinc
project
heads for
2015 start-up
The tempo of development at North River Resources’ Namib
lead-zinc mine in Namibia is steadily building up, with
an application for amining licence having recently been
submitted to the NamibianMinistry of Mines and Energy and a
feasibility study due for completion shortly.
ModernMining’s
Arthur Tassell recently spoke to North River’s MD, Martin
French, and Dominic Claridge, Project Manager, about the
redevelopment of the mine, which could be recommissioned
and in production by the first quarter of 2015.
