POSTMASBURG (miningweekly.com) – Beneficiation was planned for the Sedibeng iron-ore mine near Postmasburg, in the Northern Cape, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Northern Cape regional manager Mehmood Ahmed said on Tuesday.

The Sedibeng mine, which was partially mined in the 1960s, is owned by the IDC, Tata Steel subsidiary Black Ginger 461 and black economic-empowerment (BEE) group Cape Gannet Properties 227.

Black Ginger 461 holds a majority 64% stake, with the IDC and Cape Gannet Properties 227 holding 10% and 26% respectively. The IDC also took a 10% equity in the BEE group.

The IDC’s exposure to Sedibeng Iron Ore is R290-million, R160-million of which was towards the BEE ownership.

Addressing the media during a visit to the mine, Ahmed said that the IDC was planning an expansion similar to what was previously done with Kumba Iron Ore.

“We are planning to expand and beneficiate in future with the iron-ore produced potentially to be used as feedstock for local steelmaking, in line with the IDC’s strategic imperative,” he said.

The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act makes provision for equitable access to, and sustainable development of, South Africa’s mineral and petroleum resources. In line with the legislation, the project ensures that the local community can share in the mineral wealth and natural resources of the region, the IDC stated.

Construction on a beneficiation plant at the mine was expected to start in 2015.

The mine is currently producing about 750 000 t/y of ore, with two shipments of between 160 000 t and 170 000 t having been completed since the mine’s start-up in October 2011, said Sedibeng Iron Ore GM Sanjit Kumar Adhya.

“However, we are planning to ramp-up the project to produce two-million tons a year by 2015/16, with an expected life-of-mine of ten years,” he added.

Meanwhile the Sedibeng mining permit area hosts large exposures of banded ironstone (BIS) formations, Sebibeng Iron Ore senior manager for geology and planning Nandakumar Lakshmipathy said.

“Such massive exposures of BIS are not observed elsewhere in the region, other than in the military area north of Sedibeng, and the potential of these stones had to be understood, especially with respect to liberation characteristics and economic extraction of mineral values,” he said.

Three drill holes in the BIS areas were currently planned to understand the subsurface characteristics and to retrieve samples to understand the mineralogy and physical characteristics, he added.

“If the drilling yields positive results we will work on the resource. BIS is the resource of the future and could make Sedibeng a major player; however, extensive beneficiation would be required as a result of the BIS’s mineral composition,” Lakshmipathy said.