Name and Location
Tshipi Borwa manganese project, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Client
Broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) company Ntsimbintle Mining owns 50.1% of Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining (Tshipi) and Jupiter Mines owns 49.9%.

Ntsimbintle represents many divergent BBBEE shareholders, including Safika Resources, Nkonjane Economic Prospecting and Investments, John Taolo Gaetsewe Development Trust and ASX-listed OM Holdings.

Project Description
The Tshipi project, located about 20 km south-west of the mining town Hotazel, in the Kalahari manganese field, is an advanced mining development project, with a defined mineral resource estimate of 163-million tons grading at 37.1% manganese. Of the total resource, 62-million tons are classified as indicated resources and the remainder as an inferred resource.

The ore is contained within a 30-m- to 46-m-thick mineralised zone, which occurs along the entire strike length of the Borwa property.

The mine is being constructed as an openpit mining operation using a standard truck-and-shovel opencast mining approach. The Borwa mine property is located adjacent to the Mamatwan openpit manganese mine, which has been in operation for more than 47 years. Total run-of-mine ore tons to be produced are planned at 2.4-million tons a year. There are sufficient resources to ensure a 60-year life-of-mine at this production rate.

The mining of the openpit has been outsourced to Aveng Moolmans. All the other parts of the operation will be run on an owner-operator basis.

Although the Hotazel area has established road, power and rail infrastructure, as well as water supplies, there is currently no infrastructure at the project mine site. Owing to inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, there is also no additional capacity available to supply power to the mine. The project’s power requirements, which are not significant, will, therefore, be supplied by diesel-driven generator units until power from the country’s infrastructure can be accessed.

Tshipi has constructed its own dedicated rail loading facility, which has joined the existing transport rail line a few kilometres from the site. Discussions are being held with State-owned logistics group Transnet and Tshipi expects to sign a transport agreement shortly, which will enable  the company to access rail and port capacity for the export of manganese from the project.

Value
R1.7-billion.

Duration
Mine development started in 2011, with first ore mined in October 2012.

Latest Developments
The Tshipi Borwa mine has signed a rail and port contract with Transnet.

The contract makes two trains a week available, along with a 50 000 t storage capacity at the Port of Port Elizabeth. One additional train a week will be provided, at Transnet’s discretion.

These arrangements align with Tshipi’s ramp up plans for this year.

The focus for the mine for the rest of 2013 is to complete the remaining construction activities and to optimise the current pit design, in line with Tshipi’s long-term mine and production plans.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Turgis Consulting (feasibility study) and Aveng Moolmans (removal of the overburden, drilling, blasting and hauling of the manganese ore).

On Budget and on Time?
Revised project schedules show a delay in construction completion from the first quarter of 2013 to the end of 2013.

The final cost is likely to be about R160-million, or 10% higher than the original budget.

Contact Details for Project Information
Jupiter Mines, tel +61 8 9346 5500, fax +61 8 9481 5933 or email info@jupitermines.com.
Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining, tel +27 11 011 9222.
Turgis Consulting, tel +27 11 476 2279, fax +27 11 476 2579 or email turgis@turgis.co.za.
Aveng Moolmans media contact, Cheryl Whitaker, tel +27 10 202 7000, fax +27 10 207 7204 or email cwhitaker@moolmans.com.