Engineering & Mining Journal

MAR 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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INDABA REVIEW decision on whether to construct its own, or use existing facilities, soon. Going North This was the largest ever African Mining Indaba, according to organizers. ting current events in the industry influence our plans." Wesizwe is China's first venture into the platinum sector, after the China based Jinchuan Group acquired the asset several years ago. The mine is targeting 350,000 oz/y, and will be an underground operation. The shaft sinking contract was awarded in March last year, and the shaft is expected to be completed by 2014. Gao says that platinum's main market, Europe, may be soft right now but future demand, particularly from China, is likely to pick up. He points out that Beijing is implementing ever-tighter environmental regulations that include emissions controls. Sooner or later, all cars sold in China will require platinum-based catalytic converters. The Bakubung mine is still four to five years away from production, he said, time enough to take the lessons of the industry's current troubles on board. The company even has a few things it can teach the experienced South Africans. "We have mines that can deliver 4 million metric tons (mt) of ore with 2,000 employees, but our studies show that in South Africa it takes 3,500 workers to deliver only 270,000 mt," Gao said. "So you can see that there is a lot of room for improvement." Chinese mining engineers have been brought in and their collaboration has increased the shaft-sinking rate of the operation. As Gao points out, China too has a tradition of mining that goes back centuries. 40 E&MJ; • MARCH 2013 The company received approval in December for a US$650-million standby facility from the state-owned China Development Bank. This will not be enough to see the project through to completion, but the company has plans in place to ensure that it has enough capital to cover every phase of development. Gao added that Wesizwe is evaluating the building of its own smelter to serve the expected 30-year plus lifespan of the mine. The company was also talking to existing smelter plants and would make a But if South Africa's industry appears mired in gloom, elsewhere on the continent things looked considerably brighter. Africa lags behind the rest of the world in terms of direct investment, but it's looking more attractive to mining capital than it has for many years. "If you're a serious mining company, you can't ignore Africa," said Magnus Ericsson, director for the Raw Materials Group, a Stockholm-based consultancy, in a keynote address. "There are two major underexplored areas in the world, Africa and Siberia, and Siberia is closed. We're seeing explorations shifting from places like South Africa to Gabon, Cameroon and other countries." Because Africa has lagged behind world investment, there is now a scramble to catch up as investors look for better returns from the saturated established markets in the West. "Africa's share of world output is around 10%, and most of that is still from South Africa," Jamal Saghir, the World Bank director for sustainable development (Africa) said at a briefing. He said Africa had received only a fifth of the estimated $1 trillion in global investment over the past decade, but this share was expected to increase significantly. Demand for resources would The African mining industry used the event to sign deals and meet colleagues. www.e-mj.com

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