Name of the Project
Gamsberg smelter project.

Location
The project is located 14 km east of Aggenys, in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

Project Owner/s
Black Mountain Mining, a subsidiary of Vedanta Zinc International (VZI), which is a unit of Vedanta.

Project Description
Black Mountain is proposing to build an electrolytic zinc smelter for treating concentrates from the recently commissioned Gamsberg ore concentrator plant. The proposed smelter will produce 300 000 t/y of zinc ingots and other pro­ducts that can be sold on the open market.

The smelter will produce numerous products through a process of roasting (acid forming), leaching (jarosite forming, and purification that entails the removal of metallic impurities, as well as gypsum) and electrowinning, where zinc depo­sition on a cathode occurs.

The deposited zinc will be stripped from the cathodes and will be converted into zinc ingots in the melting and casting section.

The zinc ingots and sulphuric acid will be sold and waste products disposed. Mineral waste will either be disposed of at a secured landfill site to the west of the smelter or into the existing tailings storage facility.

Primary support services and infrastructure includes an internal site entrance and access controls, a weigh bridge, clean and dirty stormwater management, overhead transmis­sion lines and a secure landfill site. The Sedibeng Water underground water pipeline also requires an upgrade to support the smelter project.

A new 39 km bulk water pipeline will be built from the existing Orange river abstraction point to replace the old underground pipeline.

The exiting Pella Water Works will also be upgraded. The new pipeline will be built within the old underground pipeline servitude.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The refinery could result in a further investment by Vedanta to $700-million and $800-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
For the proposed project to proceed, an environmental- and social-impact assessment is required, including an application and scoping phase, and an environmental-impact assessment (EIA) phase and the associated compilation of an environmental management programme.

In addition, the proposed project will require authorisation in terms of the National Water Act, the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, as well as the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act.

However, VZI CEO Deshnee Naidoo indicated in November 2019 that it would process its ore elsewhere unless the country could fix its power problems. The CEO does not think that a solution is possible.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
SLR Consulting (EIA).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
R&A Strategic Communications, Charmane Russell or Marika Muller on behalf of VZI, tel +27 11 880 3924 or email charmane@rasc.co.za or marika@rasc.co.za.