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Manganese, iron-ore junior awards beneficiation plant contract

10th May 2013

By: Samantha Herbst

Creamer Media Deputy Editor

  

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Manganese and iron-ore junior Diro Resources has contracted bulk materials handling solutions provider ELB Engineering Services to design, supply and construct a 200-t/h dense-medium separation (DMS) plant and related infrastructure to beneficiate iron-ore at its Kathu-based mine, in the Northern Cape.

This forms part of Diro Resources’ endeavour to establish a state-of-the-art production facility to beneficiate the run-of-mine ore at the Kathu-based operation.

Lacking the production capacity to deliver the required volumes, Diro Resources approached ELB Engineering late last year to lead the design and construction of the beneficiation plant, which will “unlock the full potential of Diro’s iron-ore body”, says newly appointed Diro Resources CEO Nico Smit.

ELB Engineering Services CEO Dr Stephen Meijers says the signing of this contract is the result of a longstanding relationship between ELB Engineering and Diro Resources.

“It will catapult Diro Resources onto a new level of performance in the throughput and quality of its final product,” he says.

ELB and Diro Resources are expecting a six-month ramp-up process and are, therefore, hoping that the one-million-ton-a-year beneficiation plant, which will produce lump and fine iron-ore, will be fully operational by the final quarter of this year.

“Having now signed with ELB Engineering Services, we are planning for wet commissioning – and hopefully hot commissioning – to be under way in September and aim to start producing in October,” says Smit.

He tells Mining Weekly that the Kathu- based mine, which has a proven reserve of 21-million tons, currently produces between 25 000 and 30 000 t/m, but adds that the company is planning to use the DMS plant from ELB to increase production to 83 400 t/m, which is the full amount stipulated in the company’s contract with State-owned freight logistics group Transnet and an iron-ore major currently facilitating the transport of Diro Resource’s final product.

Diro Resources acquired a million-ton-a-year allocation permit from Transnet for the transportation of iron-ore to the Saldanha port. This was made possible through a facilitation contract with the iron-ore major, allowing Diro iron-ore to be loaded onto the iron-ore export channel (IOEC) from the major’s production facilities to Saldanha, from where it is exported.

This agreement was signed in 2010 and expires at the end of 2015.

Smit tells Mining Weekly that Diro Resources’ mine was mothballed for eight months in September 2011, but resumed operations in May last year through mining, plant and logistics contracts.

Smit had investigated various market players as a suitable modular solutions provider to design and construct the processing facility for Diro Resources. He decided on ELB Engineering Services and modular plant solu- tions provider EPE Engineering Solutions, after visiting a Cape Town-based EPE facility designed by the service providers, which has a 15-year life span.

“The equipment, the safety mechanisms, the process design and the ease of opera- tion made it easy for me to decide on ELB. I wanted to construct a plant that lasts – one that will be reliable and efficient,” he says.

Smit adds that ELB’s commitment to local suppliers also made an impression, as locally supplied equipment further enhances the maintenance and sustainability of the plant.

“Having locally manufactured equipment makes it easier to keep the plant fully operational,” he says.

Meanwhile, much of ELB’s business focus is on junior miner operations, Meijers tells Mining Weekly, adding that about 70% of the company’s current project portfolio comprises junior players.

He says junior miners do not have the significant overheads and requirements of their blue-chip counterparts, which makes for simpler business processes.

Meijers adds that ELB enjoys working with junior miners, owing to their entrepreneurial attitude, which aligns closely with ELB’s own business values.

“ELB forms partnerships with clients for many years – some as long as 30 years – and we travel the full journey with the client. It, therefore, means a lot to us to be associated with Diro Resources and we hope to build the partnership further.

This is only the start of the journey and, depending on market conditions and resources, we will continue with the partnership and add value wherever we can,” he concludes.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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