JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Project management services company Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa – an operating arm of the global Tenova Mining & Minerals group – on Tuesday announced that it was carrying out a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Mozambique-focused Baobab Resources’ pig iron and ferrovanadium project in the Tete region of Mozambique.
The iron-ore resource targeted for mining comprised magnetite and included vanadium with prefeasibility study testwork having confirmed the potential for the successful production of pig iron with vanadium as a by-product.
The DFS, which started in January and was scheduled for completion in September, covered the beneficiation and smelting of one-million tons a year of high-quality, low-impurity pig iron, with Tenova Mining & Minerals group company Tenova Pyromet consulting undertaking the smelting plant aspect of the study.
Tenova said the remoteness of the site and the difficulty of access were major challenges associated with the project, therefore, the logistics part of the DFS would evaluate transport infrastructure requirements, including the trucking of coal to the site, the trucking of pig iron to a railway siding and the transport of this material by rail to the ports of Beira and Nacala.
“The study will also take into account the significant infrastructure investments already being made in the region. These include rail corridors, linking the Tete province with the coast, that are being refurbished and expanded, as are the ports of Beira and Nacala,” the company said.
In addition, in conjunction with another consultant, Tenova would also assess the possibility of cogenerating off-gases that could be converted into power.