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A prospective mining operation in former Transkei
Posted on: Friday, 04 August 2006. Article source: The Herald
In what could be considered a risky venture, a black-owned junior mining company is to start exploration activities for platinum and nickel in the eastern part of the Eastern Cape.
BSC Resources announced yesterday that it would start “an ambitious exploration programme in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape Province” from August 1.
The company has been issued a prospecting permit by the minerals and energy department for an area covering 39 000ha in the so-called Insizwa complex.
Company CEO Bongani Mtshisi said yesterday that the exploration was being planned as a five-year project, although small-scale mining would take place while exploration was under way. “We are quite bullish and confident that we will uncover something quite interesting over there.
“Phase one is going to take between six to eight months and after three months we will have some figures out,” he said.
The Johannesburg-based company intends pursuing full-scale mining should the feasibility study indicate that it will yield the necessary returns.
A Canadian mining company, Falconbridge, had spent close on R100-million conducting feasibility studies on the deposits, but abandoned the project as it was not considered viable at the time.
“The Eastern Cape is not known for its mineralisation, but why it hasn‘t been pursued aggressively is that the kind of minerals we are looking to pick up were not making financial sense in the 1980s and 1990s,” Mtshisi said.
“But with the commodity boom, copper, nickel and platinum have started to look attractive.
“Something is there. They just didn‘t do anything about it at the time. We are fortunate that we got it at the right time.‘
Rhodes University exploration geology department acting head Dr Steve Prevek confirmed this view.
He said the deposit had largely been of academic interest, and was quite well known to researchers.
He was also aware of the Falconbridge study. It viability as a full-scale mine would depend on the concentration of the deposits and whether pit or underground mining would be required to extract the minerals.
Mtshisi said decisions on this would only be possible once progress had been made on the feasibility study.
If needed, BSC Resources would look to partner with a major mining house to extract the minerals, he said.
Between 700 and 1 000 jobs could be created once full-scale mining began, he said, with about 100 jobs created during the exploration phase.
BSC Resources announced yesterday that it would start “an ambitious exploration programme in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape Province” from August 1.
The company has been issued a prospecting permit by the minerals and energy department for an area covering 39 000ha in the so-called Insizwa complex.
Company CEO Bongani Mtshisi said yesterday that the exploration was being planned as a five-year project, although small-scale mining would take place while exploration was under way. “We are quite bullish and confident that we will uncover something quite interesting over there.
“Phase one is going to take between six to eight months and after three months we will have some figures out,” he said.
The Johannesburg-based company intends pursuing full-scale mining should the feasibility study indicate that it will yield the necessary returns.
A Canadian mining company, Falconbridge, had spent close on R100-million conducting feasibility studies on the deposits, but abandoned the project as it was not considered viable at the time.
“The Eastern Cape is not known for its mineralisation, but why it hasn‘t been pursued aggressively is that the kind of minerals we are looking to pick up were not making financial sense in the 1980s and 1990s,” Mtshisi said.
“But with the commodity boom, copper, nickel and platinum have started to look attractive.
“Something is there. They just didn‘t do anything about it at the time. We are fortunate that we got it at the right time.‘
Rhodes University exploration geology department acting head Dr Steve Prevek confirmed this view.
He said the deposit had largely been of academic interest, and was quite well known to researchers.
He was also aware of the Falconbridge study. It viability as a full-scale mine would depend on the concentration of the deposits and whether pit or underground mining would be required to extract the minerals.
Mtshisi said decisions on this would only be possible once progress had been made on the feasibility study.
If needed, BSC Resources would look to partner with a major mining house to extract the minerals, he said.
Between 700 and 1 000 jobs could be created once full-scale mining began, he said, with about 100 jobs created during the exploration phase.
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