Industry intelligence
MC Mining completes Mooiplaats sale
Coal mining company MC
Mining (previously Coal of
Africa) has sold its shares
and claims in the Mooiplaats
thermal colliery near Ermelo
in Mpumalanga for close to
R179.9-million. According
to David Brown, CEO of
MC Mining, the Department
of Mineral Resources has
approved the requisite section
102 application and the first
quarterly payment of R11.3-
million has been received.
“The section 102 approval
was the final requirement
to complete the Mooiplaats
sales process that commenced
during 2013 and is another
significant step in the
clean-up of the company’s
balance sheet. The Mooiplaats
disposal will result in
estimated annual cost
savings of R18-million and
the quarterly payments will
be used to develop MC
Mining’s flagship Makhado
hard coking coal project,”
says Brown.
Thakadu starts construction of purification plant
Representatives from Thakadu, Lonmin, and the IDC at the sod-turning event.
Thakadu Battery Materials held a sod-turning
ceremony to mark the construction phase of its
nickel sulphate purification plant at Lonmin’s
Base Metals Refinery in the North West
Province recently.
According to Ben Magara, Lonmin CEO,
the plant is being built at an estimated cost
of R250-million, with about 90% of the
project value having been committed to date.
The project is on schedule and under budget.
All major equipment has been ordered and
key contracts awarded, including modular
fabrication of platework and structures;
civil, building and installation; electrical and
instrumentation; control and automation; and
motor control centres and field isolators.
“This nickel purification plant is a flagship
black industrialist project and we are proud
to partner with Thakadu — such initiatives
are key for beneficiation in South Africa and
for market extension of Lonmin’s by-product
streams,” says Magara.
Thakadu commenced civil works and
construction on site in August. While work is
carried out on site at the refinery, the company
is advancing the manufacture of the modular
[4] MINING MIRROR NOVEMBER 2018
MINING GROWS IN Q2
2018
The mining and quarrying
sector contributed
positively to GDP in the
second quarter of 2018.
This is according to data
released by Statistics SA
recently. According to
a press release by the
Department of Mineral
Resources, the latest
figures bode well for the
sector and indicates that
a commodity boom may
be imminent.
The mining sector in
South Africa increased
by 4.9% and contributed
about 0.4 of a percentage
point to GDP growth. The
resurgence was led by
growth in platinum group
metals (PGMs), copper,
and nickel, among others.
“As one of the leading
mineral exporting
countries, South Africa
has been negatively
affected by global
economic factors and
as a result, the mining
industry experienced a
decline in performance
over recent years.
Prioritising the exploration
of new mineral deposits,
and continuing to
work together with the
industry, we can turn our
comparative advantage
into competitive
advantage, and ensure
that the sector’s positive
contribution to growth
of the economy is
sustained,” says the
Minister of Mineral
Resources, Gwede
Mantashe.
plant, which began in early June 2018 at Styria
Stainless Steel in Wadeville, Johannesburg.
As fabrication and assembly of the modular
plant completes, the individual modules
will be delivered to site in sequence for
installation starting in November 2018 — a
process that is envisaged to take between five
and six months. This means that Thakadu
effectively has two construction sites
operating concurrently. The modular parallel
construction philosophy has significantly
reduced overall project costs, risks, and time
to first production.
Fast-tracking of modular fabrication and
ordering long-lead items while waiting for
debt facility drawdown has given Thakadu
numerous advantages. Most importantly,
the company was able to lock in favourable
stainless steel prices and exchange rates
earlier in the year, which has maintained the
project’s great return metrics.
The plant is projected to produce 25 000t
of high-purity battery-grade nickel sulphate
every year, and cold commissioning is
scheduled to begin in April 2019. Commercial
production is planned for the end of 2019.
www.miningmirror.co.za