https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

BNC smelter upgrade important short-term focus for Mwana

Mwana Africa CEO Kalaa Mpinga discusses the company's operations in Zimbabwe. Camerawork: Nicholas Boyd. Editing: Shane Williams. Recorded: 29/01/2014.

29th January 2014

By: Leandi Kolver

Creamer Media Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The most important short-term focus for Aim-listed Mwana Africa’s Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC), in Zimbabwe, was to get the operation’s smelter running once again, CEO Kalaa Mpinga said on Wednesday.

BNC owned and operated the Shangani and Trojan nickel mines, as well as the Bindura smelter and refinery complex. BNC also owned the Hunters Road nickel deposit, which was currently in the predevelopment stage.

Addressing the media at a company briefing, in Johannesburg, Mpinga said BNC’s most significant cost was currently transport, stating that it cost the company about $1.2-million a month to truck concentrate from the mine as part of an offtake agreement.

The smelter refurbishment was estimated at $25-million, “however, on transport only we will recover the investment in less than two years,” he said, adding that the company had engaged consultancy Hatch to determine how quickly the refurbishment could be undertaken.

Mwana had also received a lot of interest from potential funders, such as the Industrial Development Corporation, with regard to the refurbishment and restarting of the smelter.

Mpinga further added that the smelter, once refurbished, could potentially also be used to process platinum-group metals (PGMs).

The government of Zimbabwe had recently become vocal and insistent that the country’s mineral resources be processed locally, Mpinga said, adding that Mwana supported this and was actively engaged in the debate surrounding the issue.

“BNC owns a six-in-line furnace, as well as a copper/nickel refinery and we have capacity to process some of the concentrate that is currently being exported. We could [potentially] process close to 100 000 t/y of concentrate coming from the platinum producers,” Mpinga told Mining Weekly Online.

He did, however, point out that an investment would be needed to make the smelter’s materials handling processes suitable for platinum mining, explaining that PGM materials were usually finer than nickel and that the smelter’s current open conveyors would, therefore, not be ideal and would have to be converted to closed systems.

“We are also considering what these additional upgrades [to make the smelter suitable for PGMs] would cost,” Mpinga said, adding that, should all go according to plan, in ten years the BNC smelter might produce much more PGMs than nickel.

Meanwhile, he said its second operational mine in Zimbabwe, the Freda Rebecca gold mine, was currently producing 65 000 oz/y, with the potential to increase this to around 100 000 oz over the next few years through the development of additional infrastructure and making use of the lower-grade resource surrounding the original mine.

The company was planning to acquire a third mill for the operation that would allow it more flexibility, while also allowing it to push more tons from the existing underground operation, Mpinga said.

He added that the additional mill would also give Mwana the needed capacity to process ore mined from the large lower-grade deposit surrounding the mine.

ZIMBABWE BUSINESS CONDITIONS
Mpinga further stated that Mwana saw Zimbabwe as a stable, business-friendly environment.

“The country is easy to go in and out of and the logistics routes are short,” he said, adding that the country’s border system also worked well.

Mpinga also stated that labour relations in Zimbabwe were stable and relatively easy to handle, as the country’s literacy level was high and this was good for communication between employers and labour.

“Zimbabwe is going forward. It does not matter who is running the country, it still has a strong social, legal and financial basis.” Therefore, Mwana Africa looks at its future in the country in a positive light.

The company was also complying with Zimbabwe’s 51% indigenisation policy.

Mpinga said the BNC operation had always been considered indigenised as a result of employee and government stakeholding, while Freda Rebecca was also on its way to compliance.

Currently, Mwana held 85% of the mine, with a private Zimbabwean holding 15%; however, it was planned that the Bindura Community Trust would acquire a 10% interest in the mine while discussions with other investors were also under way.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

Comments

Showroom

SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)
SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)

Education: Consulting with member companies to obtain the optimal benefits from their B-BBEE spending, skills resources as well as B-BBEE points

VISIT SHOWROOM 
GreaseMax
GreaseMax

GreaseMax is a chemically operated automatic lubricator.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.068 0.123s - 156pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now