Page 7 - AfrElec Week 42 2022

AfrElec MINING AfrElec

Ironveld makes progress

on power supplies at

Rustenburg smelter complex

SOUTH AFRICA AIM-LISTED iron, vanadium and titanium of Ferrochrome Furnaces (FCF) had been signed
miner Ironveld has provided a further update on by its subsidiary company Ironveld Smelting on
progress made by its subsidiaries Ironveld Smelt- condition of a debt purchase agreement (DPA)
ing and Ironveld Mining towards production in between Ironveld Smelting and the sole creditor
South Africa. of FCF for a total of ZAR115mn ($6.4mn).
According to Ironveld’s statement on Octo- Ironveld and the sole creditor have agreed
ber 17, pre-operations power at the Rustenburg upon all commercial issues in the DPA, which
smelter in the country’s North West province is is expected to be signed in the next two weeks,
now fully installed and systems and equipment says the miner. Following its signing, Ironveld
testing is underway. and the business rescue practitioner will pro-
As announced in September, Enernet Global ceed with the formal steps to remove FCF from
has successfully installed a pre-operations power business rescue.
supply at the smelter complex that is being used Since completion of the placing in August,
to test and recommission the plant. Additional Ironveld Smelting says it has taken rapid steps
power will be added to this facility to enable scal- to recruit appropriately skilled operational and
ing up of plant operations in the coming months, maintenance staff for the smelter operation. Cur-
Ironveld said. rently, around 40% of envisaged total employees
The full completion of Enernet’s optimised have started work or have accepted employment
power solution, which includes solar, battery offers.
storage and gas generation, is expected in the According to the statement, the start of min-
third quarter of 2023. As a result, the smelter will ing operations has been scheduled to begin in
not be reliant on the struggling South African the current quarter (Q4 2022) in order to cost-ef-
electricity grid at any stage of production. ficiently supply a feedstock of magnetite ore for
According to Ironveld, smelter refurbishment the smelter as the three furnaces are brought into
is on schedule. Based on a review of work suc- operation sequentially.
cessfully completed to date, Ironveld Smelting When fully operational the smelter will
expects first production of its suite of products require about 40,000 tonnes of ore per year,
(high-purity iron, vanadium in slag and titanium a relatively modest amount that can be effec-
in slag) in the first quarter of 2023. tively mined with a small equipment fleet, says
On August 31, Ironveld announced that the Ironveld.™
share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100%

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