RARE EARTH PRODUCTION TIMELINES FOR STEENKAMPSKRAAL
PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION •
“ Material and loose ore from underground will be reclaimed followed by the construction of the monazite concentration plant and commencement of underground mining . The first monazite concentrate is expected to be produced by December 2024 ,” he said .
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RARE EARTH PRODUCTION TIMELINES FOR STEENKAMPSKRAAL
Location : South Africa Phase : Development – construction and production strategy Resource : Monazite concentrate , mixed rare earth ( RE ) carbonate and thorium , Neodymium , Praseodymium ( NdPr ), Dysprosium , Terbium
Speaking at the Critical Minerals Africa Conference in Cape Town in October last year , Graham Soden , a director , CEO and mine manager of Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine , outlined the mine ’ s planned development strategy to December 2027 to bring the mine into production .
The strategy covers producing monazite concentrate with the construction of a monazite concentration plant , followed by the construction of a cracking plant to produce mixed rare earth ( RE ) carbonate and thorium . This will be followed by the construction of separation plant to produce mixed RE oxides .
To date , Soden said about R1-billion has been invested in the mine ’ s infrastructure . “ The first phase of three phases will involve the mobilisation of the mining and processing plant and equipment to the site , refurbishment of the decline and shaft area and re-equipping the headgear and infrastructure .
The second phase will involve increased mining volumes and monazite concentrate production and all metallurgical testwork , design and planning for the construction and commissioning of a monazite cracking plant . This will produce mixed RE carbonate and thorium . In this phase the design and planning of an RE separation plant will also be undertaken .
In phase three , the construction and commissioning of the separation plant will be completed to produce mixed RE oxides . The period January 2026 to December 2026 will see the cracking plant commissioning and initial production of mixed RE carbonate and thorium . The period January 2027 onwards will see the steady state production of monazite concentrate to the cracking plant with the production of mixed RE carbonate and thorium with plans to produce individual RE oxides .
To finance the project , from August 2023 to January 2024 the mine will raise USD2-million capital . This will cover planning , design and metallurgical test work for phases 2 and 3 . From January 2024 to July 2024 , USD15-million to USD20-million capital will be raised for working capital , project mobilisation and ongoing metallurgical test work for phases 2 and 3 .
The period of August 2024 to December 2024 will see the commissioning of phase 1 , the first production of monazite concentrate and ongoing phase 2 and 3 metallurgical test work .
Between January 2025 to December 2025 there will be a further capital raise of USD15 – 20-million for the steady state production of monazite concentrate , and cracking plant design and construction . The period January 2026 to December 2026 will see an increase in run of mine ( RoM ) production , the cracking plant commissioning with associated increase in monazite concentrate production to the cracking plant and the initial production of mixed RE carbonate and thorium .
Supplied by Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine
The Steenkampskraal rare earths and thorium mine in the Western Cape .
www . africanmining . co . za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • January 2024 • 13