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

Client
South African 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 (OMH).

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 tonnes grading at 37.1% manganese. Of the total resource, 62-million tonnes 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.

Tshipi is 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 operating for more than 47 years. Total run-of-mine ore tonnes are planned at 2.4-million tonnes 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 are being run on an owner-operator basis.

Tshipi has constructed and commissioned its own dedicated rail loading facility, which has joined the existing transport rail line a few kilometres from the site.

Value
The project cost R1.7-billion to develop.

Duration
Mine development started in 2011, with first ore mined in October 2012 and first manganese exported in December 2012.

Latest Developments
Jupiter Mines, OMH and South Africa’s Ntsimbintle Mining, have formed a joint venture (JV) to market the manganese ore produced from the Tshipi Borwa project.

The JV vehicle, in which each partner will hold a 33.3% stake, will trade under the name OM Tshipi and will be based in Singapore.

OM Tshipi will become a major marketer of South African manganese ore and can potentially sell more than two-million tonnes a year of production. It will also generate significant export earnings for the Tshipi Borwa project and the South African economy.

Furthermore, the JV will also enter into a take-or-pay offtake contract with Tshipi for all the available production for the next two years, extendable as an option available to the parties.

During January to June, the Tshipi operation dispatched 191 410 t of medium-grade lump ore, with another 172 460 t to be shipped during July and September.

During the same period, Tshipi also sold 33 865 t of fine ore, with 56 916 t of fine ore to be shipped by September.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aveng Moolmans (removal of the overburden and drilling, blasting and hauling the manganese ore), Senet (engineering, procurement and construction management, or EPCM) took over the EPCM of the project in January 2013.

On Budget and on Time?
Although the mine is currently producing, the updated project schedules indicate that the outstanding portions of the capital infrastructure will be fully commissioned in 2014.

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 11 706 9004.
Senet, tel +27 11 409 1300 or fax +27 11 409 1301.
Aveng Moolmans media contact, Cheryl Whitaker, tel +27 10 202 7000, fax +27 10 207 7204 or email cwhitaker@moolmans.com.