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Manganese plan unconstrained by rail Posted: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 [miningmx.com] -- THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) confirmed it would help finance a new R3bn manganese mine and smelter in South Africa, and said the venture would be supported by transport utility, Spoornet. “We have spent R60m helping fund the prefeasibility study which has provided us with a 20% stake,” said Ufikile Khumalo, vice president of the IDC’s industrial and utilities division. “The project fits perfectly within IDC’s mandate.” Khumalo confirmed a Miningmx report on February 5 that empowerment firm, Kalahari Resources, would control the venture, known as Kalagadi Manganese. Kalahari Resources is chaired by Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, chairperson of the Womens’ Development Bank. Kalahari Resources also represents womens’ groups including Siyanda Mining Corp. The mine, situated in the Northern Cape province, is slated to produce about 1.5 million tonnes/year of manganese concentrate. The concentrate will be railed down to Coega, a government-backed free export zone and port in the country’s Eastern Cape province, to a smelter with a planned capacity of 350,000 tonnes/year of ferromanganese. Miningmx reported on February 5 the project was imminent and was unconnected with plans by Russia’s Renova Group to build a $1bn (R7.3bn) mine and smelter in the same region. A key issue for South African manganese production is that resources are predominantly in the remote Northern province. As a consequence, expansion plans are sometimes hamstrung by transport utility Spoornet’s inability to guarantee sufficient freight capacity. However, David Wellbeloved, technical director of Kalahari Resources, brushed off claims there might be transport bottlenecks. “There is really no problem with capacity on the rail. There problem is rolling stock (trains) and Spoornet has promised us that they will be able to provide them when production begins,” Wellbeloved said. “We’re in negotiations with Spoornet at the moment,” said Wellbeloved. Kalagadi Manganese expects first production in 2008. The capacity of the Northern Cape-Coega rail is about eight million tonnes/year. “Current usage is not even close to that region,” he said. There are also expectations of significant capacity increases on the Coega line such that it may compare in size to the Sishen-Saldanah railway line that terminates on South Africa’s south-western peninsula. Click Here to subscribe to our daily newsletter
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