JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Sakura Ferroalloys, a joint venture (JV) between South Africa’s Assmang, Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation and Taiwanese firm China Steel Corporation, this month hot commissioned the first of two 81 MVA furnaces, at its manganese alloy smelting facility, in Sarawak, Malaysia.
The first high-carbon ferromanganese shipments would start in June.
Construction of the $300-million alloy smelting plant began in 2013.
The second closed submerged-arc furnace would be hot commissioned in the third quarter of this year and would initially produce high-carbon ferromanganese, but would later be used to produce silicomanganese.
The first shipments of silicomanganese would be made during the first quarter of 2017.
The furnaces would produce 110 000 t/y of high-carbon ferromanganese and 70 000 t/y of silicomanganese once in full production.
Assmang, itself a JV between Assore and African Rainbow Minerals, holds a 54.36% interest in Sakura, with Sumitomo owning 26.64% and China Steel Corporation 19%.
Mining Weekly Online reported in September 2013 that Assmang would supply South African manganese ore for the project, while China Steel would buy about 30 000 t/y of the produced manganese alloys and Sumitomo Corporation would coordinate the project and sell manganese alloy in specific markets.