Aim-listed iron, vanadium and titanium project developer Ironveld and its team of specialist contractors have started work at the mothballed Ferrochrome Furnaces (FCF) smelter site, in Rustenburg, in South Africa’s North West province.
This follows the successful completion of a £4.5-million fundraise to acquire the remaining stake in the FCF business that Ironveld does not already own, as well as to refurbish the FCF smelting complex.
Ironveld has been permitted by the business rescue practitioners, Tayfin Forensic and Investigative Auditors, and the sole creditor, to gain access to the smelter facility at this early stage to progress with the refurbishment as time-efficiently as possible.
The focus in the initial weeks will be site clean-up and security, as well as water, electrical and gas supply servicing and safety checks.
In addition, mechanical, electrical and structural compliance checks and statutory certification will be completed.
Following this, the planned refurbishment and upgrades across the facility, which will enable the first of the three furnaces to start production, will be undertaken. The planned refurbishment will take six to nine months to complete.
Ironveld notes that the final contracts for completion of the acquisition are progressing well.