This month's focus
Kropz aims for 3m
tonnes of phosphate
Kropz has acquired its second phosphate
project in Africa.
Edited by Leon Louw
Michelle Lawrence, technical director at Kropz.
L
ondon-listed phosphate mining company Kropz says it is
looking to achieve steady-state production from its South
African phosphate mining operation during 2020 and, with
two new African phosphate assets acquired recently, is targeting to
mine three million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of rock phosphate
from a 1 000Mt resource within five years.
Listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in
November last year, with 261 million shares in issue and a market
cap of more than USD100-million, Kropz’s vision is to become a
leading independent phosphate rock producer and to develop, over
time, into an integrated mine-to-market plant-nutrient company
focused on sub-Saharan Africa.
At a media briefing in Johannesburg recently, CEO Ian Harebottle
said the company’s value is underpinned by its pipeline of high-quality
projects, in which USD1700-million has been invested to date.
“We are leveraging current lows in the phosphate market and
positioning ourselves to become one of the top 12 phosphate-
producing companies globally,” Harebottle said.
“Why choose phosphate, and why target sub-Saharan Africa?
Phosphate is essential to food production, the market is emerging
from a low of more than 10 years, and growth will flow from
world population expansion, increased food demand, and reduced
arable land.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is the fastest-growing
globally, it has the lowest per capita/arable hectare phosphate
fertiliser consumption, and its food consumption is expected to
triple by 2050.”
Kropz’s most developed asset, promising near-term cash flow, is
Elandsfontein on South Africa’s West Coast, which will exploit the
country’s largest sedimentary phosphate deposit. Some USD120-
million has been invested in exploration, bulk sampling, feasibility
studies, and subsequent construction of a mine, mineral processing
facility, and associated infrastructure. Offtake agreements for its
48 AFRICAN MINING MARCH - APRIL 2019
production of 1Mtpa+ of >31% phosphate (P 2 O 5 ) rock concentrate
have already been secured.
Kropz technical director Michelle Lawrence says that the
operating cost estimates suggest that Elandsfontein will be
well placed to compete effectively with other phosphate rock
producers. “Also, its close proximity to the deep-water Port of
Saldanha Bay enables it to target demand in both the Atlantic
and Indian Ocean markets,” she adds.
Of Kropz’s two most recent acquisitions, Harebottle said the
Hinda phosphate project in the Republic of Congo holds prospects
for medium-term growth, and Aflao in Ghana, exploration upside.
Hinda, a sedimentary phosphate deposit that covers more than
260km² of the Republic of Congo’s coastal basin, has a JORC-
compliant mineral resource base of 675Mt at a grade of 10%, with
86% in the measured and indicated categories.
While a 2015 definitive feasibility study targeted production of
4.1Mtpa of phosphate concentrate with an unleveraged NPV of
USD1.85-billion with an IRR of 38%, Kropz believes a smaller-
scaled project targeting production of 1–1.2Mtpa can be developed
initially for a significantly lower capital investment with similar
returns. The plan is to develop a proposed single solution within 12
months, Harebottle said.
In Ghana, Kropz subsidiary First Gear Exploration (First
Gear) is currently undertaking exploration work to confirm that
neighbouring Togo’s HKK deposit extends into the Aflao area of
Ghana’s Volta Region. A mobile metal ion (MMI) geochemistry
study shows that phosphate is present; the intention is to proceed
with a detailed exploration programme to delineate a resource that
will support a beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure.
In Togo, the Société Nouvelle des Phosphates du Togo’s (SNPT)
Kpeme mine is the country’s single major producer. Kpeme’s
production has averaged between 700 000 and 1.2Mtpa of phosphate
rock concentrate, high in P 2 O 5 , over the past five years. b
www.africanmining.co.za