JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s former Reserve Bank Governor and Labour Minister Tito Mboweni and his brother have done a $32-million deal with Ferrox for 20% of the Tivani iron-ore project in South Africa’s Limpopo province.

The project may also be developed for the production of ilmenite concentrate for the production of titanium dioxide.

Mboweni and his brother, Alto, are the founding members of Mboweni Brothers Investment Holdings.

Mboweni is also currently chairperson of gold major AngloGold Ashanti and packaging company Nampak, as well as being international adviser to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

 His chemical engineer brother has been involved in various consulting capacities, with clients such as Petronas, Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Ferrox CEO David McAdam described the Tivani project as one of the most significant deposits of its kind.

Currently privately held and British Virgin Islands-registered, Ferrox has a 74% indirect interest in the Tivani iron-ore project through its 100% indirect ownership of the South African Tivani subsidiary.

The company also has a 100% indirect interest in another South African subsidiary, Tzaneen Mining Projects, which has procured other prospecting rights, also in Limpopo.

To date, Ferrox has confirmed 470-million tons of measured, indicated and inferred resources.

Significant additional resources under its control are currently being evaluated, together with possible iron-ore beneficiation to pig iron or steel in Limpopo, plus the value-adding production of titanium and vanadium.

Ferrox plans to raise $150-million over the next 12 months for additional working capital to start iron-ore production at Tivani, and for drilling programmes to firm up its additional resource base.

Run-of-mine production of 10-million tons of iron-ore a year is envisaged from Tivani, starting in the next 24 months and ramping up to full production over 36 to 48 months.

At full production, 2.5-million tons a year of iron concentrate will be generated for beneficiation within South Africa or for export.

If smelted, an estimated 1.5-million tons of pig iron or steel would be produced, in addition to titanium dioxide slag and vanadium pentoxide. The production of 500 000 t/y to 800 000 t/y of ilmenite is also being evaluated.
 

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