Despite being one of South Africa’s smaller mining companies,
Anglovaal Mining could account for as much as 10% of all investment
in this country by the entire South African mining industry in the
period 2001 to 2006, Mining Weekly can report.
„South African mining companies will invest some R70-billion in
South Africa from 2001 to 2006, of which Avmin alone will be
responsible for R5-billion, with another R2-billion in probable
expenditures, amounting to R7-billion in all,“ says Avmin CEO Rick
Menell.
Avmin’s precious-metals interests are held in Avgold and Two
Rivers, its ferrous metals (iron-ore, manganese ore,
ferromanganese, chrome-ore, and ferrochrome) in Assmang, its nickel
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in Nkomati Mine in Mpumalanga, while its copper and cobalt
interests in Zambia are housed through Chambishi Metals. None of
these companies is wholly-owned by Avmin, although it is the
majority shareholder in all of them, albeit just so in the case of
Assmang. Avmin holds 56% of Avgold, 55% of Two Rivers, 50,4% of
Assmang, 75% of Nkomati Mine and 90% of Chambishi.
The Nchwaning manganese mine ibarrel washing for sand and graveln the Northern Cape should start
commissioning late in 2003. „Nchwaning is on budget and schedule
– it will be a highly mechanised mine with two shafts and one
decline, and will produce two-million tons a year of ore,“ reports
Menell.
Some R500-million is being spent on this project for upgrading
existing manganese mining assets.
The R190-million Dwarsrivier chrome mine inmining equipment list filetype pdf Mpumalanga was opened
last year and is now feeding the Machadodorp Works, where a new
ferrochrome smelter, with preheater and a pelletising and sintering
plant, was opened last month – a R375-million investment
which nearly doubles the Works‘ capacity from 175 000 t/y to 300
000 t/y.
In the Northern Cape, the R250-million expansion at the Beeshoek
iron-ore mine has also been completed.<brthe industrial process in mining />
„We’ve also spent a lot of money in Zambia, on Chambishi –
$260-million, the biggest investment in Zambia today,“ he
adds.
Recently, Avmin wrote down Chambisi assets to the tune of $134-
million.
„Chambisi has not gone quite as well as we planned, but it still
has value, it still has real prospects,“ he asserts.
The company expects Chambishi to achieve full prportable stone crusher plant in south africaoduction by the end
of this year.
„We’re not planning to withdraw from Zambia, and Anglo American’s
decision to pull out won’t affect us,“ assures Menell.
However, the group is unlikely to enter new sectors of the mining
industry in the near future, with the exception of platinum-group
metals where a feasibility study is under way on the Two Rivers
property in Mpumalanga.
„We’ve got big projects in our businesses at present – we
have to bring these in before we can consider expansion into other
sectors,“ argues Menell.
Speaking at the opening of the new smelter at Machadodorp last
month, Menell described the investments by Avmin and Assmang „way
out of line in terms of the size of our companies,“ and added that
they were „investment in the future of South Africa and the
Avmin group.“ At the same function, he pointed out that the
opening of the Dwarsrivier mine had also opened new opportunities
for the group.
„Before, we basically relied on third party chrome-ore supplies,
and the high cost of these chrome supplies prevented us from
entering long-term ferrochrome supply contracts – this
has now totally changed,“ he pointed out.
„Now we want to be a long-term supplier to the international steel
industry,“ he announced.