JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Kumba Iron ore is seeking to strengthen its position by integrating and investing in new technologies to optimise performance and recovery, while pursuing value-accretive opportunities, through exploration and diversification, CEO Themba Mkhwanazi told media during a site visit to the Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, on Tuesday.

The company hopes to extend the Sishen mine’s life, which presently only has 13 years remaining, through an exploration programme in the area located between Sishen and Kumba’s Kolomela mine.

Mkhwanazi said he was confident about the results of the exploration programme.

Meanwhile, Kumba executive head of technology and projects Glen McGavigan noted that the company has spent R749-million on technology at Sishen and Kolomela between 2014 and 2017 to implement the best available technology in advanced process control, drones and mine information system equipment.

He added that, in terms of performance at Sishen, fleet productivity had improved by 62%, despite the fleet having reduced from 136 vehicles to 98.

Kumba is also undertaking a bankable feasibility study into installing a large-scale ultra-high dense media separation (UHDMS) plant at Sishen to treat 260-million tonnes of stockpiled material.

McGavigan explained that UHDMS can be used to produce a high-quality iron-ore product from low-grade material and that Kumba already successfully piloted the technology.

UHDMS would have the capacity to produce another one-million to two-million tonnes a year of high-grade iron-ore.

Kumba executive head of marketing and seaborne logistics Timo Smit, meanwhile, pointed out that the company’s premium high-grade product is selling for $84/t, adding that increased demand for high-quality iron-ore, specifically from China, was a positive development for the company.

He explained that demand for the high-grade ore was primarily driven by stricter pollution controls in China. About two-thirds, or 5.5-million tonnes a year, of Kumba’s yearly production comprises premium lumpy product.

Kumba is strongly positioned for future growth, as the planned exploration and technology programmes should effectively strengthen both its reserves and operational performance, Mkhwanazi said.