Mining

Copper and zinc are fuelling increased investment.

Sector Insight

Orion Minerals has secured an $87-million funding package.

copper demand is clearly also good news for the town of Nababeep. Founded in 1860 by the Okiep Mining Company, Nababeep is in the Namakwa District Municipality just north of Springbok.

Copper is one of the most important elements needed to power the renewable energy transformation and so it’s no surprise that areas mined historically for that mineral are now back in the news.

Batteries need copper, as do systems used to transmit energy from solar or wind sources. Electric vehicles contain an average of 85kg and, according to the CEO of newly-formed Copper 360, Jan Nelson, the world had a stock of copper equal to only three weeks supply at a certain point in February 2023 (Financial Mail, 23 February).

Copper 360 was formed in November 2022 following a reverse takeover of copper producer Big Tree Copper (a producer of copper) and SHiP Copper (a mining company). The company was due to list on the AltX of the JSE at the end of February but at the time of writing, it had not yet listed.

Copper 360 produces 1 200t/y of A-grade copper cathode and has set a target of achieving 7 700t/y inside two years. Three new copper flotation plants are being built at a cost of R280-million.

With 280 new employees over the last two years and plans to recruit a further 1 000 staff members in the next two years, global

An old zinc mine at Prieska that produced a million tons of zinc and 430 000 tons of copper before it closed in 1991 is being revived by Australian miner Orion Minerals. Orion Minerals has secured a funding package of $87-million from subsidiaries of Triple Flag Precious Metals. The funding is conditional on the rest of the plan for the mine’s development also receiving funding and on the approval of South Africa’s regulatory authorities.

Another funder of the early development of the mine is the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), one of the country’s largest institutional investors. The IDC has identified key opportunities for the national economy on the path to zinc industrialisation:

• fertiliser phospates: sulphuric acid as a byproduct can enable the establishment of a sulphuric acid plant in the Northern Cape in support of agriculture in the lower Orange River

Our Histor y

We are located at the Kimberley Diamond Jewellery Centre in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. We have entrenched ourselves as the only incubator in the Precious Stones exchange, shared infrastructure and technology support services to the unemployed,

Our Clients

have work experience or informal sector businesses.

Our Purpose

Our Vision

To be the premium incubator in the diamond and precious metal

Our Mission

• Provide an enabling environment that gives access to technology and business development;

• Assist entrepreneurs and sustainable.

Our Values

• Integrity;

• Innova

• Transparency;

• Reliability;

• Customer centric.

Our Partners

Overview

• zinc-coated steel: availability of zinc concentrate provides opportunities for South African steel plants

• battery storage: zinc is cheaper than lithium when deployed in battery technology. The New Industries unit of the IDC has developed a strategy for zinc-bromide redox flow batteries.

• copper smelter plant: potential for copper smelter plant in the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (NAMSEZ), which would further stimulate exploration and mining.

The National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, in collaboration with the Northern Cape Provincial Government, hosted the Northern Cape Mining and Minerals Investment Conference in March 2022 in Kimberley. The department’s stated goal is that all South Africans should derive sustainable benefit from the country’s resources. The province’s considerable mineral wealth was outlined to potential investors and plans for infrastructure development (such as industrial parks and Special Economic Zones) were highlighted.

The Kathu Industrial Park is particularly well placed to support the mining sector as it is close to the Postmasburg-Hotazel iron-ore/manganese belt (or Gamagara Mining Corridor) and is easily accessible from the N14 highway.

The Namakwa SEZ in Aggeneys is being envisioned as an industrial cluster for mining and agriculture services, beneficiation and manufacturing.

The biggest new mine in the country is a zinc mine at Aggeneys, the Gamsberg project of Vedanta Zinc International, which will deliver 600 000 tons of zinc when phase three is complete. The provincial government is using the mine’s location (and possible future smelter) as the basis for a new Namakwa Special

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Economic Zone. The SEZ forms part of a larger “multi-nodal” corridor envisaged for the province.

Afrimat continues to expand its commodities portfolio with the purchase for R300-million of Coza Mining, an iron-ore mining company in the Northern Cape.

The Afrimat transaction includes the share previously held by ArcelorMittal SA, which will receive iron ore from Coza in terms of a supply agreement. Coza’s three mines, Doornpan, Driehoek and Jenkins, are close to Afrimat’s exisiting Demineng Mine, which is south-west of Kuruman.

Mining assets

The Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s “Economic and Investment Profile” reports that the province is responsible for:

• 95% of South Africa’s diamond output

• 97.6% of alluvial diamond mining

• 13.4% of world lead exports. Aggeneys, in the Namaqualand district, is responsible for approximately 93% of South Africa’s lead production

• 80% of the world’s manganese resource

• 25% of the manganese used in the world

• 100% of South Africa’s tiger’s eye

• Largest national production of sugilite (a semiprecious stone).

Away from the underground kimberlite pipes and fissures, river and coastal deposits of diamonds are also present in the Northern Cape. Diamonds have been recovered along the Orange, Buffels, Spoeg, Horees, Groen, Doom and Swart rivers in the province, while coastal deposits have been found from the mouth of the Orange River to Lamberts Bay. ■

Minerals Council South Africa: www.mineralscouncil.org.za

National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy: dmre.gov.za

Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism: www.northern-cape.gov.za/dedat