Name of the Project
Elandsfontein phosphate project.

Location
Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Client
The Elandsfontein project is held by Kropz (70%), Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, or ARC (25%) and by a smaller empowerment partnership (5%). Ubuntu Botho Investments forms part of the ARC structure.

Project Description
The Elandsfontein phosphate deposit is the largest sedimentary phosphate deposit in South Africa.

The phosphate mineralisation is contained in the Varswater formation, with the phosphate occurring in phosphatised shell fragments and phosphorite pellets. The remainder of the deposit consists of silica sand and calcium oxide.
The operation will be limited to a fenced off area of 500 ha, which will contain the excavation area, the processing plant and the office. At any time, the open area of the mine excavation will be limited to 60 ha.

The sandy nature of the Elandsfontein deposit means that the phosphate can be upgraded without significant crushing and milling requirements often associated with rock processing.

A major component of the project will be the processing facility and its associated infrastructure, with a design capacity to produce 1.35-million tons a year of phosphate concentrate.

Included in the process will be screening, classification, milling, reverse flotation, dewatering and product handling.

Tailings will be dewatered by belt filter before dry stacking.

Potential Job Creation
At full production, Elandsfontein will provide direct employment for 450 people, 70% of whom will be drawn from the local municipality. 

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Kropz, which has invested $120-million in its 95% complete Western Cape processing facility, is finalising plant design and mulling capital raising to take the Elandsfontein phosphate project to the next level.

The company is hoping to process the first ore through the plant before the end of the year.

The boxcut has been developed and ore has been opened for what will be an estimated 15-year life-of-mine.

The processing facility is 5% off completion and the access road to site, overhead powerlines and the water supply lines have been developed.

It has capacity to supply 1.35-million tonnes of phosphate rock into the market, with an important aspect of the concentrate being that it is very low in cadmium and heavy metals.

Minopex has won the contract to operate the plant, with associate company DRA Global the winner of the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract.

VDM Transport has been contracted to haul the concentrate from the mine site to the deep-water Port of Saldanha, which is 50 km away and accessed by national freight routes.

The company has secured offtake agreements for its total production.

Many additional boreholes have been drilled across the resource and initial metallurgical sample testing returned from Tenova, in Israel, is positive.

Changes to the processing plant are likely to be minimal and the cost of implementing the required changes is being calculated with a view to getting back into production as soon as possible.

While this has been taking place, water has been continually pumped out of the aquifer for recharging downstream to draw down the water levels within the mining area.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA (EPCM), Minopex (processing plant operation), VDM Transport.

On Budget and on Time?
The plant’s commissioning was paused in August 2017, when it was hit by depressed phosphate prices, delayed water drawdown in the pit and the inability to produce a 32% grade for sale to the market.

The plant was consequently placed on care and maintenance in September so that its weaknesses could be strengthened through robust redesign.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kropz, tel +27 21 930 0927 or email info@kropz.com.