Local firm Geratech is adding value to zircon in a industry that did not exist until the company developed the blueprint, says MD Ignatius de Wet.  The plant is now up and running, despite initial challenges, he says.

The process from the planning stage to setting up the plant was not easy, but the project has been spurred on by soaring demand for zirconium.

De Wet says that the key to addingvalue to zirconium is to have the technical capacity and local resources to cost-effectively bene-ficiate the mineral.  The assistance by the South African government, dedicated to create work and skills, made the plant possible.

Before Geratech developed the technology in South Africa, zirconium beneficiation was limited mainly to China, which guarded its processes closely.

Now that the infrastructure is in place and the processes are unfolding, commercialising the producthas become the main focus ofmanagement, says De Wet.

“I am not implying that everything functions as it should, but we are able to deliver a steady supply to our customers.

“Geratech is in a continuousprocess of cutting out the bottlenecks while also keeping its eyes fixed on future developments.” Some of the challenges exper-ienced were not foreseen during planning.

Electricity costs in South Africa remain inexpensive in comparison to costs in Europe.

For a plant of this nature, a supplyof three megawatts is needed to produce 8 000 t/y of zirconium. The supply in the initial stages was 0,6 MW.

This is better than in China, where some plants experience four-day-long interruptions duringproduction.

The problem experienced with the power supply inhibited production by six months.

During normal production, as presently experienced, a lead time of four weeks is needed to land zircon-ium in Europe and approximately six weeks to get beneficiated zirconto the US.  The process of production at Geratech is a three-phase process,consisting of an alkali-fusion process, followed by precipitation and filtration, and, lastly, in refiningspecial products, a calcinations phase.

Clients work in close collabor-ation with Geratech during the production process, which manufactures  tailormade products to suit their needs, while the technology is kept confidential.

This is an important aspect,because the specifications clients need direct production processes and research in future zircon-bene-fication development.

De Wet says, “The business environment Geratech developed is based on trust and Geratech honoursagreements. There are indications that clients would rather associatewith Geratech owing to protective measures in terms of the law. This makes Geratech a reliable supplier and the company has several technology-transfer agreements and offtake agreements with a range of companies spanning the globe.” Heavy minerals such as ilminite, rutile, magnetite and zircon areextracted from deposits nearweathered rocks.

The worldwide supply of zircon is a million tons – 100 000 t below current demand.

South Africa produces 45% of global supply at the heavy-mineralsmining operations of Anglo American’s Namakwa Sands, in the Western Cape, Rio Tinto’s Richards Bay Minerals, in Kwazulu-Natal, and Kumba Resources’ Ticor subsidiary, in Kwazulu-Natal.

Beneficiation to chemicals and oxides take up 10% of the zircon demand.

Geratech produces mostly for the overseas market. The demand for zirconium downstream products increases by 8% a year.

While zircon is sold for $600/t to $800/t, beneficiated zirconium products sell for between $1 600/t and $300 000/t.

Besides the feedstock that is shipped to Geratech, the bulk of South Africa’s zircon is exported abroad and is used in several value-added sectors, including chemical beneficiation.

De Wet says Geratech started with nothing except a few labor-atory processes.

This had to be piloted and blueprinted. The latter was done from 2000 to 2003, at Pelindaba.

The next step was to build a plant that could accommodate the process blueprints.

Most importantly, the rightpersonnel had to be attracted, andIT systems, quality systems, key process parameters and standard operating procedures and supply chains had to be developed.  “Our biggest challenge for the remaining part of 2006 is to sort out the teething problems on plant equipment, and then we want to exploit the zirconium value chain,” he says.

“This momentum gained will be taken forward, although certainprocesses and equipment will change,” De Wet says.

“It is like a train: the process starts moving with pushes and shoves,always toward the goal.

“Our policy and philosophy is to develop people in the industryspecifically within the Geratechenvironment.” De Wet says, “The company has fine examples developing the skills of employees and created a collectiveknowledge base to the advantage of all employees.” Geratech has definite short-term goals for 2007. Market penetration and broadening will be the focus.

He says, “We know where the floor is of the zirconium market, but we do need to discover theceiling. There is tremendous space for development and the marketkeeps on growing.

“To do this we need to do the easy things right and focus on the technical value line, such as high-value oxides,” he says.

He adds that zirconium chemicals and oxides are used in a wide range of environment-friendlyapplications, as it provides a safe alternative to the use of dangerous chemicals, such as formaldehyde resins in the paper industry, chrome in the leather industry and lead in the paint industry.

There are at least 50 industries that use beneficiated zircon in their products, one of which is the manufacturing of antiperspirants.  The mineral finds its main applications in the opacifier market, where it is used to provide white brilliance to products such asceramics.

Development and research on solid oxide fuel cells produced from beneficiated zircon is in progress in the US to replace conventionalfossil-fuel energy systems.

This is an alternative energy source where zirconium oxide has an important role to play.

Geratech’s medium-term plans are to capture about 5% of themarket for zirconium chemicals and oxides and the company is setting its sights on producing zirconium tetrachloride in a process that will use significant quantities of chlorinegas.

This could enable South Africa to produce greater quantities of caustic soda.

“We do not yet seek to list on the JSE; however, in time we might need more liquidity and to obtain such capital we will seek the right partners, who can consolidate and add value to the company,” says De Wet.