Fledgling mining company Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining exported the first manganese from its new R1.7-billion Tshipi Borwa mine, in the Northern Cape, in December.

“All our product has been planned to be exported and, as such, this project will be a significant foreign exchange earner for our country – a substantial amount of the revenue earned through these exports is expected to remain within the South African economy,” says CEO Finn Behnken.

The mine will provide permanent employment for about 500 South Africans.

Waste stripping at Tshipi Borwa started in December 2011 and first ore was mined on October 10 last year. The first railings took place in November, where the ore was railed from the Northern Cape mine to the Transnet Port Elizabeth bulk manganese stockpiles. The ore was then loaded onto the vessel on December 19 and shipped to customers in the Far East.

Behnken says that shipment of manganese will be the first of many more subsequent shipments: “We are overjoyed at our achievement of having exported our first manganese in 2012. It has been a long path that our shareholders have followed, especially the broad-based historically disadvantaged South African (HDSA) shareholders who have been working hard over the last ten years to bring this mine to fruition. They and the local communities who own equity in the mine will reap the benefits of their hard work during the decades that the mine will be operational.”

The Tshipi Borwa mine has three main tasks planned for this year, which are com- pleting and commissioning the capital plant construction activities, ramping up to continuous production and optimising and consolidating its operational efficiencies, Behnken explains.

The mine also has several social plans earmarked for 2013, including providing education, job opportunities and freshwater to the communities surrounding the mine, he adds.

Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining is a HDSA majority-owned and controlled joint venture between black economic- empowerment company Ntsimbintle and Australia-listed mining company OM Holdings, which own 50.1% of the venture, and Australian-listed Jupiter Mines, which owns the remaining 49.9%.

Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining, which owns 100% of the Tshipi Borwa mine, is debt free and all the shareholders have contributed all the necessary equity in order to fund the mine’s development on a pro rata basis.

The John Taolo Gaetsewe (JTG) Develop- mental Trust, which is based in the Northern Cape, is a significant shareholder in the Tshipi Borwa mine through Ntsimbintle. “The success of Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining is intertwined with the development of JTG district and its people. We are excited about the mine reaching this important milestone,” JTG Developmental Trust chairperson Cynthia Mogodi stated in a media release.

The revenue generated from the mining activities will flow down to the community of the JTG district and, therefore, create meaningful and sustainable benefits for the community.

“This economic empowerment of local communities is the key to better education and a better life for the people of the Northern Cape,” Mogodi added.

The Tshipi Borwa mine has been designed to ensure lasting benefits for the surround- ing community in terms of job creation, housing and social projects, such as the provision of a learning centre and several local economic development initiatives. It is expected to provide permanent employment for more than 500 South Africans and, given the significant ore resources, the operation is expected to be active for many decades, Behnken concludes.