Modern Mining July 2021

ore prices,” says De Wit. Iron ore reached close to US$180/t (62% Fe) in December 2020, a level not seen for almost a decade, before reaching an all- time high of US$267,80/t (65% Fe) in May this year. “The Bulk Commodities segment is, in fact, becoming the biggest part of the business, given the opportunities we are currently working on follow‑ ing the acquisitions of Coza and Nkomati last year. We are making good progress on both these assets and are expecting positive contributions from both of them from the second half of this financial year,” says De Wit. Entrenching diversification During the recently ended financial year, Afrimat purchased the remaining shares in Unicorn Capital Partners Limited (UCP), leaving Afrimat with 100% of Nkomati Anthracite Proprietary Limited. “We are excited about the mine’s potential. The plan is for Nkomati to contribute to the second half of the coming financial year,” explains CEO Andries van Heerden. “The upside of Nkomati is that it is one of those high-quality reserves that the market demands and is willing to pay a premium for. Operationally, however, Nkomati is a business we needed to turn around. We have previously turned loss-making businesses into strong cash cows and, leveraging this experience, we have been careful and precise in execution,” says Van Heerden.

business, which also chipped in wi th about R1,6‑billion (R1 595-million), while Industrial Minerals contributed the remaining 14% (R514-million). “It’s still a very balanced portfolio on the revenue side, although the profit was largely contributed by the iron ore business, on the back of favourable iron

Afrimat expects Nkomati to start contributing to the group’s revenue from the second half of this financial year.

July 2021  MODERN MINING  19