KROPZ, a phosphate mine developer, said it had appointed former African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive, Jan Steenkamp, as MD for its 74%-owned Elandsfontein phosphate project, located in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
Steenkamp is currently a non-executive director on the board of ARM, but was previously in charge of its ferrous metals division as well as ARM Exploration and Strategic Services. “I am very excited to be a part of the Elandsfontein opportunity,” he said.
“This project has been built to a high standard, has received significant capital investment to date, and is now nearing the final stages of completion.” Some $120m has so far been invested in the mining project which has offtake agreements for production of more than one million tonnes a year.
Steenkamp’s job is to develop the operational team at Elandsfontein which must be driven through to commercial production. Results of the metallurgical test work currently being carried out at Elandsfontein are on track to be released during the first half of 2019, the company said in an announcement.
Said Ian Harebottle, CEO of Kropz: “Once again, it shows the immense support Kropz continues to receive from ARC, not only as a provider of investment for the project and the company, but also as a source of further technical expertise and assistance required to bring our exciting projects on stream.”
ARC, or African Rainbow Capital, founded by ARM executive chairman, Patrice Motsepe, has a 26% stake in Kropz.
