Modern Mining January 2017

ZINC

Vedanta Zinc International (VZI)’s Gamsberg project in the Northern Cape is now entering the main construction phase with the recent appointment of the EPCM contractor for the processing plant and related infrastructure and the bulk mining contractor. The project involves a capital expenditure of US$400 million, considerably lower than the original estimate of US$600 million, with the savings being achieved by some clever re-engineering of the project, as well as a decision to go the contractor mining route. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently spoke to VZI’s Chief Executive Officer, Deshnee Naidoo, and its VP Projects, Satish Kumar, to learn more about the history of the project and its planned implementation. Vedanta cuts the cost of Gamsberg by a third

L ocated about 30 km to the east of the underground operations of VZI subsidiary, Black Mountain Mining (BMM), in Aggeneys, the Gamsberg deposit is widely regarded as being one of the largest unexploited zinc resources in the world. It does, however, come with its challenges, specifically a low grade and a high manganese content. The orebody was discov- ered 40 years ago but remained largely unde- veloped by its previous owners, Gold Fields and Anglo American, although the latter did complete a feasibility study and also initiated a small scale underground mining operation.

The project was acquired by VZI, part of LSE- listed Vedanta Resources, in 2010 when it pur- chased BMM from Anglo American. Commenting on the deposit, Naidoo – a chemical engineer who was CFO for Anglo American Thermal Coal before joining VZI in 2014 – says the total resource amounts to 214 Mt with the grade being in the region of 6 to 6,5 %. “This is low for a zinc orebody,” she says. “To put it into perspective, our Lisheen mine in Ireland, which we closed at the end of 2015, was mining with grades in the double digits right through to the end. Nevertheless, Gamsberg is ideal for modern bulk open-pit

Vedanta Zinc International’s CEO, Deshnee Naidoo, en- gaging with the Gamsberg project team.

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56  MODERN MINING  January 2017