Modern Mining April 2019

MINERAL SANDS

facility at Batterie Beach by a transport contrac- tor utilising 90-tonne triple trailer road trains operating 12 to 13 hours per day on a seven- days-a-week basis. The export facility will include a storage shed for 135 kt of ilmenite and 10 kt of rutile, with a separate shed to store 15 kt of zircon. Ground improvement is required for the shed foundations. Material handling operations will utilise front-end loaders fitted with push arms, similar to Kwale Operations. A 550 m long jetty with conveyor will load vessels up to Ultramax draft (63 kt) moored on a multi- buoy mooring berth. In respect of execution, Base says the preferred delivery approach will be owner implementation for the mining and a com- bination of EPCM and EPC contracts for the processing plants, infrastructure and the export facility. Base is working towards making an investment decision in early 2020. On this basis, Toliara could be producing its first concentrate from the WCP by November 2021 with the first shipment of product occurring in March 2022. Photos courtesy of Base Resources

The MSP is not relocatable and all major mine infrastructure is located at the MSP site (including power generation, administration, workshops, stores and camp). Final products will be stored in 1 000 t bins (500 t for rutile). Additional site storage is provided for the three ilmenite products (two weeks’ production). Power for the mine site will be supplied by an Independent Power Producer (IPP). Generation will be based on a hybrid HFO, solar PV and battery system located near the MSP and camp. Total installed power (Stage 1 and Stage 2) is estimated at 18 MW with an average usage of approximately 12 MW. An operations camp will be constructed to house up to 668 persons during construction or 234 during operations for expatriate and non- local skilled personnel. Malagasy labour and off-site contractors will be housed in the local communities. Local workforces will be bused in daily. Early camp construction is aimed to maximise local content utilising longer lasting block building methodology. Approximately 860 kt of product annually will be hauled from the mine to the export

Proposed export facility, storage shed and jetty.

April 2019  MODERN MINING  25