A Groundbreaking Contract: allmineral Designs and Supplies 18 alljigs® for South African Mining Concern Kumba Resources Limited
12 December 2005
allmineral has once again achieved success in the international market - and this in a most extraordinary manner: allmineral (Pty.) Ltd. based in Johannesburg, the South African subsidiary of the Duisburg Concern has been contracted by Kumba Resources Ltd to supply 18 alljigs® to Sishen Mine in the Northern Cape.
These jigs will form the nucleus of the Sishen Expansion Project for the production of an additional 10 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate to increase the export of iron ore from Sishen Mine, which at present is running at 24 million to 35 million tonnes per year. The plant is scheduled to be in production by 2007.
The 3,000 tonnes per hour beneficiation plant will consist of 6 modules and each module will include 3 alljigs®, i.e. one each for the Coarse-, Medium- and Fines circuits respectively, to be installed by allmineral during the course of next year.
These air pulsed jigs are designed to operate at very sharp and accurate cutpoints, a fact Kumba considered in the adjudication of the contract. It is this latest development in process technology, which allows the recovery of high value concentrates from poor and low grade mineral resources, to date considered uneconomical.
Kumba Resources Limited, the fourth biggest iron ore producer in the world and biggest producer of iron ore in South Africa, was formed in 2001 when Iscor unbundled its steel and mining divisions.
Kumba, whose mining activities, apart from iron ore, include coal, base metals and heavy minerals, has now embarked on the Sishen Expansion Project. One of the most important aspects of the increase in production at Sishen Mine is the expansion of the 860km long Sishen-Saldanha Bay railway line to the bulk export harbour at Saldanha Bay approximately 120 km north of Cape Town on the West Coast, operated by Transnet.
Built in the 1970s, this harbpour is one of the biggest bulk ore handling terminals in Africa and covers approximately 7,500 hectares. The ore export handling facilities and ancillary services will also be expanded to cater for the increase in iron ore production.
Approximately 300 additional jobs will be created directly as a result of the Sishen Expansion Project. This project will contribute significantly to the growth in the South African economy as iron ore is one of the top earners of foreign exchange. The South African economy is currently in a developing phase with a growth rate of 3.7% recorded in 2004 and the prognosis by economists is that this development is expected to continue in future.
