Name of Project
Gamsberg project.

Location
Black Mountain Mining, near Aggeneys, Northern Cape, South Africa

Client
Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) is a grouping of zinc assets located in South Africa, Namibia and Ireland, owned by India-based Vedanta, a listed subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.

Operations include:

• Black Mountain Mining (BMM) and the associated flagship Gamsberg project.
• the Skorpion Zinc mine and refinery, in the IIKaras region of Namibia.
• the Lisheen mine, in Ireland, currently in active closure mode, with mining and milling concluded in December 2015 after 17 years of operation.

VZI aims to create an integrated world-class regional zinc complex comprising BMM (including Gamsberg) and the Skorpion Zinc mining and refining operations.

Project Description
One of the largest greenfield mining projects in Africa, Gamsberg is being developed on one of the world’s largest known, but as yet undeveloped, zinc deposits.

The project’s current reserve and resource is 214-million tonnes, with a grade of between 6% and 6.5%, and it has a life-of-mine (LoM) estimated at 30 years.

In Phase 1, which has an LoM of 13 years, four-million tonnes of ore will be produced from Gamsberg’s openpit and 250 000 t/y of zinc-in-concentrate from its concentrator plant.

Potential Job Creation
Almost 3 000 personnel were employed on site at peak construction – 1 050 from the Northern Cape and 550 from the local Khai-Ma municipality.

About 90% of Gamsberg’s permanent operational staff, expected to be a total of 700, have been recruited and on-boarded in readiness for the start of full operations.

Value
Phase 1 of Gamsberg is valued at $400-million.

Duration
The LoM of Phase 1 is 13 years.

Latest Developments
Commissioning at Gamsberg has been under way since early July 2018.

Waste prestripping was completed by the end of June 2018, and ore production has started. About  67.2-million tons of waste has been prestripped against an initial target of 68-million tons, and 487 000 t of ore have been mined against an initial target of a 500 000 t ore stockpile before plant commissioning.  A mining production rate of 4-million to  4.5-million tons a month of overall rock mining is consistently being achieved. This is expected to continue into the operational phase of the project.

The necessary water and power infrastructure (a 38 km water pipeline, with pumping and storage, and 20 km of power lines, with a main receiving substation) have been successfully commissioned, and are now delivering water and power at the required capacity.

Construction of the 117 ha high-density polyethylene-lined tailings storage facility is complete and it is ready to receive tailings.

Ahead of the plant feed, the crusher has been commissioned, and a stockpile of 500 000 t of ore has been built in readiness for commissioning of the milling and flotation area.

Meanwhile, the Gamsberg Smart Ore Movement digitalisation project announced in November 2017 was on track to go live in August this year – it will provide real-time stockpile and blending management solutions to derisk the ramp-up of the concentrator.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aveng Moolmans (bulk mining); ELB Group (concentrator and associated infrastructure); Liviero Civils (tailings dam); Zest WEG Group, including Shaw Controls (upgrade of municipal supply station providing water for the mine and zinc concentration plant).

On Budget and on Time?
Plant and infrastructure construction activity peaked in the first quarter of the 2018/19 financial year. Commissioning is near completion, and first commercial production from the concentrator plant is expected in September 2018 and ramp-up to full production of 250 000 t/y within nine to 12 months thereafter.

Contact Details for Project Information
R&A Strategic Communications, Charmane Russell or Marika Muller, tel +27 11 880 3924 email charmane@rasc.co.za  or marika@rasc.co.za.