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The Northern Cape Industrial Corridor has much to offer Specific areas within the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor make an attractive proposition for investors.
Namakwa Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) The value proposition of the Namakwa SEZ is based on the existence of the Gamsberg Zinc Mine and the proposed building of a smelter by Vedanta Zinc International. These would be the anchor tenants of the SEZ. It is proposed that a smelter be built to treat zinc concentrate produced at Gamsberg. The zinc concentrate produced at the existing concentrator plant will be treated in the smelter using the conventional roast-leach-electrowinning (R-L-E) process. The full process would involve the treatment of 680 000/tpa of zinc concentrate to produce 300 000/ tpa of high-grade zinc ingots for export. As a by-product 450 000/tpa of 98.5% pure sulphuric acid will be produced for both export and consumption within South Africa. Non-ferrous metals such as zinc have characteristics that make them immensely useful in a wide range of downstream applications. Resistance to corrosion and their non-magnetic qualities are among the reasons for the wide range of uses to which they can be put.
Various wastes and by-products will be generated by the smelter that could be useful to investors. Waste includes iron cake stabilised (dry), Jarofix; effluent treatment plant cake (dry); evaporation pond salts (dry); and cellhouse sludge (dry). The SEZ designation application is in its final stages where it is envisaged that the final and complete designation application will be delivered to the dtic following certain critical milestones that are progressing well. The Namakwa SEZ development is “the game changer” for minerals beneficiation in South Africa and the Northern Cape province providing a “turn key solution” to industrialisation.
Upington Industrial Park Upington is the second-biggest town in the Northern Cape, 130km from the Namibian border post and about 350 km from the border post of Botswana, with good access roads such as the N10 and the N14. It is
Building a new industrial city in the Northern Cape as part of the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor: Namakwa SEZ in Aggeneys where you will live, work and play.
Credit: Vedanta Zinc International
