African Mining January 2023 | Page 45

EXCURSION • decommissioned Okiep Copper Mine , now the plant site in Nababeep . Chief Executive of the company , Jan Nelson says , “ Our philosophy centres around mutualistic symbiosis – we run an operation to benefit all stakeholders , environmentally , commercially and for the local community .”

Harmonious operations Big Tree Copper has developed a technologically advanced metallurgical process at its Solvent Extraction Electrowinning ( SX EW ) plant , which recycles previously dumped ore and mining waste to produce premium grade copper .

Supplied SHIP

Jennifer Barnard , chief sustainability officer at Big Tree Copper explains , “ Developed on the historical mining foundations where waste copper oxide dumps were left behind ( considered to have no value at the time ), copper is now being removed by processing these old copper oxide dumps using hydrometallurgical processing . The copper is recovered by leaching , followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning to produce copper cathodes . While being reduced in volume , these historic dumps are creating jobs and skills development , with direct local and regional economic spin-offs and the environment is being rehabilitated in the process .”

The local beneficiation process at Big Tree results in the export of 6cm thick , one-metre by one-metre copper plate . Each plate weighs about 38kg and contains 99.89 % copper . The plant produced its first copper plate in October 2020 and plans to produce 100-150t of copper every month within 12 months , which is in excess of 1 200t annually , building on its current base of 60t per month . 2

Shirley Hayes founder and CEO of SHIP , a copper mining and development company .

on the JSE , expecting to make its AltX debut in the next couple of months ( as at the time of writing November 2022 ).

The new company ’ s name embodies its philosophy , which is premised on mutualistic symbiosis already discussed , its resultant sustainability journey to a circular economy and a ‘ round table ’ organisational structure , which makes the workforce – on and underground – the core of its operations . The principle incorporates ‘ leadership from the outside inwards .’ The company ’ s C-suite and CEO-SHIP encapsulates and forms the outer ring , talking to the inner ring of services : expert geologists , engineers and maintenance teams who , in turn , talk to the core and central cog of the operational wheel : the wo / manpower at the centre . All rings of the whole depend on one another , and these circumjacent spheres of influence and operation meet at a bi-weekly round table meeting , where opportunities and challenges are discussed .

This has been a journey of sustainability in the making , says Barnard , where technology is able to produce copper without green fields mining , providing the economic catalyst for social upliftment and environmental rehabilitation in a town historically impacted by copper mining and with current unemployment levels at 70 %. 2 The operation employs 160 people at present , ranging from high level professionals with degrees to unskilled labourers receiving training on site . The company is also faring particularly well on the diversity front – 33 % of its employees are female .

The principles of a circular economy are manifested herein , and the operation answers the call of the United Nations Development Goals of people , planet and profit . In fact , the company won the Junior ESG Awards at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2022 : Category – Technological Modernisation .

Destination Copper 360 However , this is just a snippet of the greater voyage of discovery and exploration started by Hayes who has with a determined , entrepreneurial spirit captained SHiP Copper . “ The vision is to develop the Northern Cape into one of the largest copper producing districts in the world , leaving a mining legacy that talks to growth and hope for all South Africans ,” says Hayes .

She stresses , “ The world needs to produce the same amount of copper in the next few decades equivalent to the amount collectively mined in the past 5 000 years to keep up with global demand .”

SHIP Copper ’ s journey has culminated in the birth of a new copper mining giant – Copper 360 – the soon to be , only pure copper play

Hayes says the plan is to combine the two companies through a reverse takeover , where SHiP takes over Big Tree Copper through reversing SHiP ’ s assets into Big Tree . This combination is on a winning streak : A majority woman-owned company , mining highgrade , low-cost , margin-rich surface copper , which – let us not forget – is the new oil globally and answers the ESG call , particularly through Big Tree Copper .

Hayes enthuses , “ We own most of the copper district in the country , we will be the only copper play in South Africa on the JSE , SHiP offers scalability , we are located in a district where renewable energy in the form of the wind and the sun are already accessible , we have an offtake agreement with Noble Metals with favourable terms and flexibility – and local investors are knocking our door .”

This voyage has been an exceptionally long , tough and risky ‘ life journey ’, but one that was strategically planned says Hayes . The secret of the success reaped today lies in ‘ knowing the why ’ – understanding and being fully committed to the reasons one has embarked on a journey of discovery such as this ; being an ‘ opportunity spotter and first-mover ’ and critical timing with a dash of good luck , but most importantly , being surrounded by a network of experts , smarter than oneself . With all of this in place , one can traverse the storms at sea such as the early challenges as an explorer starting off without funding and having to negotiate from a place of weakness , and now our biggest challenge – Eskom and the lack of reliable power .

What lies on the horizon ? “ Having reached a pinnacle in our journey – after the listing a new and exciting journey will begin , where growth and development