Shaw River Resources, a manganese focused mineral exploration company, said that the development of its Otjozondu Manganese Project will place the country amongst the top ten manganese producers and exporters internationally.
In an interview with the Economist this week, Mr Vincent Algar MD of Shaw River, said that the project will become Namibia’s leading bulk mineral exporter with ore being transported by road from the mine to Okahandja, where it will be off loaded onto rail cars to the port of Walvis Bay.
According to Mr Algar, the company’s immediate focus will be directed at bringing the Namibian asset into production, thus enabling the company to change from explorer to producer; a significant milestone in the company's development.
He added that studies are under way to determine the logistics requirements, particularly the impact on road, rail and port infrastructure for the export of the product.
Mr Algar said that "When acquired, operation at the Otjozondu Manganese Project was on a care and maintenance basis. However, during the due diligence period prior to the acquisition, it became evident to the shareholders that the project had the potential to become a world class deposit. Significant exploration had been carried out by the previous option holders, Eramet of France. On the basis of improving the resource definition, Otjozondu mining in conformity with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee's inferred standards prepared the first initial resource at the project of 6.8 million tonnes at 23.1%, prior to embarking on an extensive drilling campaign expected to start next month."
He further said that experience from previous operations has shown that the ore can be upgraded to 35% to 40% by installing a purpose built ore processing facility because the ore bodies are generally low to medium grade that contain about 23% on average.
Such a product is readily saleable on the international market. Therefore, during this year, Otjozondu Mining plans on completing a feasibility study that will provide the boards of the respective shareholders, Shaw River Resources and Oreport with sufficient detailed information to accurately gauge the viability of the project and to plan the necessary investment for mine development.
Mr Algar said that "The feasibility study will involve an extensive drilling campaign, a detailed environmental assessment study, a detailed metallurgical testing program, a detailed logistics and marketing study, an engineering study into the mine, processing plant and infrastructure requirements."
He said that in order to enable the company to complete the feasibility study in an aggressive time frame, tenders have been called for from suitably qualified engineering companies to manage all the mining activities, so that the results of the study will be delivered by the end of this year.
Mr Algar added that the Otjozondu project is planning to produce approximately 250000 to 500000 tonnes of manganese per year over the economic life span of the mine which is expected to be at least 10 years. Shaw River Resources has acquired a 75.5% stake in Otjozondu Mining, with Oreport retaining a 24.5% stake. The price for the acquisition was paid for in shares in Shaw River Resources and Atlas Iron.
Mr Algar also said cash and royalty was paid to the vendor of the project (the owners of Otjozondu Holdings Limited). He declined to disclose the amount.
(Sourced from www.economist.com.na)
