Name: Sishen mine.

Location: The Sishen mine is situated 8 km from Kathu, in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Controlling company: Kumba Iron Ore (100%).

Brief History: The exploration, development and production history of this mines dates back to the early nineteenth century. However large-scale exploration only started in the 1940s. Following a diamond-drilling programme in 1947, mining operations at Sishen mine began in 1953, primarily providing ore for consumption at domestic steel mills. Further exploration conducted during the 1960s led to a significant increase in the resource base and, coupled with the completion of the Sishen–Saldanha railway line in 1976, production had increased through the facilitation of iron-ore exports.

Brief Description: The Sishen mine currently comprises a conventional openpit operation, processing through a single processing facility. The current life-of-mine (LoM) is 18 years.
Mining method: Openpit.

Products: Iron-ore.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Sishen mine is a highly mechanised mine. It uses electric rope shovels, with dipper capacities ranging from 18.3 m to 22.9 m for loading run-of-mine (RoM) ore and overburden. Front-end loaders with 11 m buckets, are used for ore blending. Hydraulic shovels with 28 m buckets, are used for free digging clay overburden. The haul trucks used for moving the material are Komatsu 730E (190 t capacity), one Caterpillar 793B (218 t capacity) and Unit Rig Mk36 (170 t capacity). The mine's RoM ore is beneficiated by a heavy-medium separation plant.

Geology/Mineralisation: High-grade laminated and massive ores are found in the upper parts of the Asbestos Hills subgroup and conglomeratic ores are recovered from the overlying Gamagara group. The iron-ore is underlain by a banded iron formation and overlain by conglomerates, iron-rich shale, varieties of brown and white shale, flagstone (iron-rich quartzite) and purple quartzite. On the western side of the mine, lavas of the Ongeluk formation have been thrust over these clastic sediments. The ores and associated lithologies are of Proterozoic age and constitute the Griqualand West basin of the Transvaal supergroup.

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2012, were 918.9-million tons, with a grading of 59.2% iron.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2012, were 452.4-million tons, with a grading of 60.2% iron. Total inferred resources considered for the LoM plan were 24.7-million tons, grading 56% iron and 67.7-million tons, grading 55% iron outside of the LoM plan.

Prospects: Several brownfield expansion projects are being considered and developed, including Sishen lower-grade projects, SEP1B and the Sishen DMS concentrate project.

Further, Kumba is part of a Transnet/industry team, which is examining the feasibility of expanding the iron-ore export channel to beyond the current design capacity of 60-million tons a year.

Contact Person: Investor relations manager, Esha Mansingh.

Contact details:
Kumba Iron Ore
Tel +27 12 683 7067
Fax +27 86 624 2836
Email esha.mansingh@angloamerican.com
Website www.kumba.co.za.