AGGENEYS: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened Vedanta Zinc International’s (VZI) Gamsberg mine, outside Aggeneys in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province.
President was joined by Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe, Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas, and hosted by Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, Vedanta CEO Mr Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, and VZI CEO, Deshnee Naidoo.
The Gamsberg zinc resource, though discovered more than 40 years ago, had been held undeveloped in the portfolios of various South African mining companies until Vedanta acquired it in 2011, as part of the Black Mountain Mining complex. Vedanta gave the project the go-ahead in 2014, and the first blast occurred in mid-2015 just eight months later.
Gamsberg has a reserve and resource of more than 214Mt with a grade of between 6% and 6.5% zinc and an estimated life of mine (LoM) of 30+ years.
Phase 1 of Gamsberg, celebrated, represents a US$400 million investment by Vedanta in South Africa. This phase has a LoM of 13 years and will see 4MTPA of ore produced from the open pit and 250,000tpa of concentrate from its concentrator plant.
Evaluation for Phase 2 and 3, a further investment of US$350 to US$400 million, is underway. This will see ore mined increase to 8mtpa and increase in zinc-in-concentrate production, in a modular way to 450,000tpa, and ultimately to 600,000tpa.
Chairman of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal emphasised his commitment to South Africa, and his belief in the future of the South African mining industry. Agarwal also noted his and Vedanta’s support for President Ramaphosa’s immediate vision for the industry.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “The Vedanta Gamsberg project is an important step in our shared journey to revive our mining industry. It confirms our view that with an effective regulatory framework, improved collaboration between all stakeholders and sustained investment, mining has the potential to be a sunrise industry.
“We welcome this substantial investment by Vedanta, which not only deepens South Africa’s relationship with India but also signals Vedanta’s confidence in the future of South Africa’s mining industry.”, he added.
