JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Approval to restart operations partially at the Tshipi Borwa manganese mine has been granted to Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, ASX-listed Jupiter Mines has announced.

Tshipi Borwa mine is an opencast manganese mine in the Kalahari manganese field of the Northern Cape.

Jupiter stated that Tshipi management was currently working with contractors, suppliers and Transnet to coordinate the partial recommencement of production and exports, Jupiter CEO Priyank Thapliyal stated in an update on South Africa’s extended nationwide Covid-19 lockdown to April 30.

Jupiter last month placed its Tshipi Borwa manganese mine on lockdown, while suspending manganese ore exports for a three-week period, ending on April 16.

“The health and safety of all parties remain of utmost importance during this time,” Thapliyal emphasised.

Jupiter would update the market when further guidance was available, Thapliyal added in Jupiter's note to Mining Weekly.

In its earlier release following South Africa’s initial 21-day lockdown announcement, Jupiter stated that critical maintenance, security and dewatering of the pit would continue to ensure that the mine could be expeditiously brought back into production after the lockdown period.

In that release, Jupiter informed shareholders that the operation had no debt, flexible contracts and sufficient cash reserves to keep the mine under care and maintenance during the lockdown, at an estimated cost of around R25-million.

In the 12 months to February 29, the Tshipi mine produced and exported 3.4-million tonnes of manganese.

Tshipi é Ntle recorded a net profit after tax of A$203-million, with A$109-million in cash in the bank at the end of the financial year.

The Tshipi board declared a final dividend of R265-million to be distributed to shareholders.

Last year, Tshipi é Ntle signed an agreement with ASX-listed South32 to mine, over an expected 24-month ore-extraction period, the barrier pillar between the Tshipi Borwa mine and South32’s Mamatwan manganese mine.

The low-cost Tshipi is one of the newest mines in the 35-km-long and 15-km-wide manganese belt of the Kalahari, which hosts 20-billion tons of manganese ore at grades of 20% to 48% manganese.