Name of the Project
Zanaga iron-ore project.

Location
The Zanaga project is located 30 km west of Zanaga, a regional centre of the Lekoumou department of Congo-Brazzaville.

Project Owner/s
The project is a joint venture (JV) between Glencore (50% plus one share) and the Zanaga Iron Ore Company (ZIOC).

Project Description
The project has probable ore reserves of 2.5-billion tons grading at 34% iron. A feasibility study completed on the project envisages a multistage development of the mine.

Stage 1 involves development to an initial 12-million tonnes a year of high-quality iron-ore product, while Stage 2 will entail an 18-million-tonne-a-year expansion to 30-million tonnes a year of total product.

Stage 1 has been designed as a standalone business case and does not rely on or require the Stage 2 expansion. The Stage 1 operation will mine the higher-grade upper hematite ores over a 30-year mine life, producing a 66% iron content and a premium-quality iron-ore pellet feed product with low impurities.

The initial openpit mining operation will use contractor mining to exploit free-dig material with a very low strip ratio, with simpler processing requirements resulting in low initial power demand. The ore will be upgraded into a high-grade pellet feed using conventional gravity and flotation concentration methods before being pumped to the port through a slurry pipeline. The project's onshore port facilities and infrastructure will include a filter plant to dewater the concentrate, and a covered ore-storage facility, located at a proposed new third-party port that will be built 9 km north of the existing Port of Pointe-Noire.

Stage 2 will involve openpit mining of the magnetite orebody. The strip ratio will be lower than that of Stage 1, as the upper hematite cap will have been mined. The processing plant will be expanded, with a second concentrator using magnetic separation to produce a blended 67.5% iron content, premium-quality iron-ore pellet feed product. The increased power requirements will be supplied by planned power-generation expansion projects in Congo-Brazzaville. A second slurry pipeline will be constructed to transport the ore to port, where the port facilities will be expanded as part of the proposed deep-water port development.

The staged development approach adopted by Glencore in the feasibility study has demonstrated significant advantages over the prefeasibility study announced in November 2012, which considered a single-stage 30-million-tonne-a-year development at a capital cost of $7.5-billion.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 is expected to cost $2.2-billion, including contingency, and Stage 2 $2.5-billion.

The first-stage operation could potentially finance the second-stage expansion through project cash flows, limiting the level of additional equity required for the operation.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
ZIOC’s JV partner Jumelles has made “substantial progress” in progressing the Zanaga project during the six months ended June 30, the company has reported.

This was achieved through the small-scale early production project solution (the EPP project) while engaging with large infrastructure and financing entities on the improved development case for the 30-million-tonne-a-year staged development project.

ZIOC nonexecutive chairperson Clifford Elphick has said that the combination of higher iron-ore prices in 2019, as well as simultaneous supply shocks from the major iron-ore producers, has led to more encouraging conditions for the project's development as a tier-one iron-ore project.

The Zanaga early production project has the potential to produce iron-ore in a shorter at low capital cost using existing brownfield logistics solutions, while the substantial value of the larger 30-million-tonne-a-year project provides strong foundations for a larger development case, Elphick has noted.

Zanaga has increased engagement with the entities involved in developing various infrastructure projects in Congo-Brazzaville to explore the potential synergies that could support the development of the project.

Value engineering opportunities continue to show potential to reduce construction time, and capital and operating cost estimates associated with the Zanaga project, the company has said.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
DRA (process plant study).

Contact Details for Project Information
ZIOC corporate development and investor relations manager Andrew Trahar, tel +44 20 7399 1105 or email info@zanagairon.com.
DRA, tel +27 11 202 8600 or email info@DRAglobal.com.