[miningmx.com] — AUSTRALIAN mining entrepreneur Ed Nealon is to develop a new iron ore mine and associated pig iron plant in Limpopo Province which will be listed on the JSE in April next year.
Nealon is the businessman who set up the Kroondal platinum mine which grew into Aquarius Platinum (Aquarius).
He is now the chairperson of ASX-listed FerrumCrescent (Ferrum) and has brought in former Aquarius executive and consultant Scott Huntly as MD.
Ferrum is about to raise A$20m through a dual-listing on London’s AIM bourse.
Interviewed after his presentation to the Africa Down Under conference being held in Perth, Western Australia Huntly told Miningmx, “we will be listing on the JSE because it’s the right thing to do to allow South African investors the chance to participate in a South African project.’
Ferrum controls two iron ore deposits situated north west of Polokwane called Moonlight and De Loskop.
The Moonlight deposit was explored by the former Iscor in the 1980’s and 1990’s which reported a resource of 470 million tonnes (mt) of magnetite ore with a grade of around 37% iron which was capable of producing a concentrate grading 68.7%.
According to Ferrum, “metallurgical tests of Moonlight material, undertaken by Ferrum, suggest that Iscor’s results are conservative, that good metal recoveries can be achieved and that the resulting concentrates contain more than 70% iron and only negligible impurities at grind sizes considered to be the industry’s standard.’
A study carried in April this year delineated a JORC compliant resource of 300mt of ore comprising 225mt at a grade of 29% iron in the inferred category and 74mt at a grade of 33% iron in the indicated resource category.
Huntly said the A$20m to be raised will fund Ferrum to the point where the decision to start development of a mine can be made.
At that point a total of US$770m will have to be raised to develop both the iron ore mine and associated pig iron plant.
Ferrum is in discussions with a number of potential strategic development partners including technology suppliers and steel producers.
The mine would produce 4.5mt/year of iron ore on a run of mine (ROM) basis required as feedstock for a 1mt/year pig iron plant.
Huntly added that gas supplies were likely to be sourced from coal bed methane projects developed either in Botswana or on the Waterberg coal field near Lephalale both of which are within 100kms of Moonlight.
According to Ferrum documentation the pig iron plant will be able to generate some 65MW of power through co-generation utilising waste gasses meaning that it would only need some 30MW of power to be provided by Eskom.
“Given the prevailing shortage of electricity in Southern Africa, the project’s ability to be self-sufficient for its electricity requirements is seen as a pre-requisite for a successful project.’
Huntly said the listing on AIM should be carried out during November while the environmental management plan for the project should be completed by April next year when the company intended listing on the JSE.
– MiningMX
