JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The expansion of South Africa iron-ore export channel to a capacity of more than 93-million tons a year is envisaged, says African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) CEO André Wilkens.

Wilkens says that a study on the economic feasibility of a 93-million tons a year capacity is due in September.

Wilkens, who will be stepping down as CEO from February next year but who will continue as an executive director in the chairperson’s office, will be leading an aggressive growth plan for the diversified iron-ore, manganese, coal, platinum, nickel and copper  mining company, which increased headline earnings by 244% to R1 562-million in the six months to December 31.

ARM, headed by executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe, and Assore, headed by executive chairperson Des Sacco, have already spent R4,2-billion on the R6,7-bilion expansion of the jointly owned Khumani iron-ore project in the Northern Cape that will lift output from ten million tons a year to 16-million tons a year in 2013.

Wilkens says that 14-million tons of the 16-million tons will be exported.

“That’s well ahead of schedule and well below budget, and we’ve already started mining some of that ground,” he says.

The much-needed extra rail capacity is also expected to accommodate manganese, which is currently exported from Port Elizabeth.

“In the same process, there will be more capacity available for iron-ore,” he says.

The operation could “quite easily” go beyond the 16-million tond a year production level, Wilkens confirms to Mining Weekly Online in a video interview.

Dwellings are being built in nearby Postmasburg for the relocation of people from the village located above part of the Beeshoek orebody.

But expansion into this area it dependent on the expansion of the rail capacity, which is being designed by a steering committee of which ARM forms part.

Ferromanganese Expansion

Wilkens would like to see the doubling of the company’s ferromanganese production, which will require production of 800 000 t/y to 900 000 t/y of additional manganese ore a year.

The plant that provides a doubling of treatment capacity has already been built and if the dual-metal Saldanha rail enhancement materialises, there will also be an opportunity to export more manganese ore.

Platinum Projects

A feasibility study is under way to decide on optimum size of the expansion of the Modikwa platinum operation.

A bankable feasibility is expected by end of this calendar year for consideration by ARM and its Anglo Platinum partner.

“It looks very encouraging,” Wilkens tells Mining Weekly Online.

ARM is also working with Platinum Australia on the Kalplats Platinum project, where water and electricity are considerations.

“It will take some time to build the mine, which will probably be an openpit mine, and which is definitely an opportunity within a five-year window,” says Wilkens.

Future Copper

ARM is accelerating its drilling programme at the Kalumines copper project on 70 km² in an attempt to reach bankable feasibility stage.

Kalumines, where exploration drilling has been under way for the last five years, was one of the assets of the ARM associate Teal, which was previously separately listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Small-scale mining has already taken place to test the orebody and on the stockpile is a million tons of material at 4% copper.

Wilkens does not foresee the orebody yielding 4% copper consistently, but recovery prospects are currently being determined and the delineation of the orebody completed.

Thermal Coal

The objective of the second phase of the Goedgevonden coal-mine expansion, which will take two more years, is to transition the underground operation to a lower-cost openpit dragline mining.

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