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JOHANNESBURG:ASX-listed Mineral Commodities (MRC) on Friday officially opened its fully funded $16-million Tormin mineral sands mine project, on the West Coast, which it claimed would inject more than R1-billion a year into the Western Cape economy over the next five years.
The mine, positioned some 400 km north of Cape Town, featured a “substantial” zircon-rich beach resource, providing ilmenite, rutile and garnet minerals, which were used in the manufacturing of ceramics, paint, paper and plastics.
Dwindling global supply and an ever-increasing demand for zircon and rutile had made Tormin an “extremely” attractive world-class resource, the company noted in a statement on Monday.
Commenting on the development of the project, MRC CEO Andrew Lashbrooke said the project remained under budget and on track to pay back its investment by the end of June.
“Since the mine developments started in April 2013, we paid particular attention to ensure that we met key objectives on time and under budget to reach today’s milestone,” he said.
While the mine’s expected life span was five years, Lashbrooke was confident that the offshore area – which housed the source of the minerals – would replenish the beach and extend the mine’s life by an additional five years.
The producer added on Monday that it had recently loaded its first ultra high-grade zircon and rutile concentrate, produced at Tormin, for shipment to its offtake partner, Wogen Pacific, and anticipated ramping up towards 4 000 t/m in the next month.
In addition to the concentrate product, the mine had, to date, produced 9 000 t of ilmenite concentrate and 12 000 t of garnet concentrate.
“The cost of fully processed zircon and rutile from Tormin is almost 25% less than that of our larger competitors. If we are not the lowest-cost producer in the world, we are among the lowest 10% on the cost curve,” asserted Lashbrooke.
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, who attended the launch of the mine on Friday, welcomed the investment by the company, saying it demonstrated sustained confidence in the South African mining industry.
“I am also encouraged by the strong presence of local women in technical operations, including geologists and metallurgists at the mine. This shows that women are taking their rightful place in the mainstream economy,” she concluded.
--From miningweekly