Name and Location
Zanaga iron-ore project, Republic of Congo (RoC).

Client
The project is a joint venture between GlencoreXstrata (50% plus one share) and the Zanaga Iron Ore Company (ZIOC) – 50% less one share.

Project Description
The Zanaga project is located 30 km west of Zanaga, a regional centre of the Lekoumou department of the RoC.

The project has probable ore reserves of 2.5-billion tons grading at 34% iron. A prefeasibility study (PFS) completed on the project has recommended that the optimum scope of work for the initial development of the project’s mineral resource comprise an openpit, low-strip mine operation and a concentrator.

This will produce 30-million dry tons a year of high-quality, 68%-iron-content product over a mine life of more than 30 years.

Value
The PFS has an estimated capital expenditure at $7.4-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
South Africa-based engineering and project management company DRA has been awarded the study of the process plant for the next phase of the Zanaga iron-ore project.

Previous studies have focussed on the viability of a large-scale 30-million-tonne-year mine. A review of these earlier studies by Glencore has identified the potential for developing the Zanaga project in stages, with the first stage involving a smaller 12-million-tonne-a-year operation and a one- to two-million-tonne-a-year direct shipping facility using existing infrastructure.
Glencore expects that this revised approach will significantly reduce the expected initial capital cost of the project, potentially more than halving previous estimates.

The study to be carried out by DRA on the staged development of the project is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2014 and will form part of the basis of a mining exploitation licence application.

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.
Xstrata, tel +41 41 726 6070 or email info@xstrata.com.
DRA, tel +27 11 202 8600 or email info@DRAglobal.com.