Name of the Project
Elandsfontein phosphate project.

Location
Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
The Elandsfontein project is held by Kropz (70%), African Rainbow Capital, or ARC (25%), and a smaller empowerment partnership (5%). Ubuntu Botho Investments forms part of the ARC structure.

Project Description
The Elandsfontein phosphate deposit is the largest sedimentary phosphate deposit in South Africa.

The phosphate mineralisation is contained in the Varswater formation, with the phosphate occurring in phosphatised shell fragments and phosphorite pellets. The remainder of the deposit consists of silica sand and calcium oxide.

The project can deliver one-million-tonnes a year of phosphate rock concentrate at steady state, with an initial mine life of about 14 years.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated. 

All-in Sustaining Costs/All-in Costs
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Kropz has spent $120-million to bring its Elandsfontein phosphates mining and processing project into production and requires an additional $16-million to cover its augmentation.

Planned Start/End Date
The target date for commissioning at the project has been moved to the fourth quarter of 2021.

The move is as a result of additional testwork being required, and the design and delivery of long-lead capital items and associated works, which have impacted on the timing and the capital cost to first production.

Latest Developments
In the financial year ended December 31, work at Elandsfontein was aimed at defining the modifications required for the processing facility.

Testwork was conducted at Mintek, in South Africa, and by research organisation Eriez and Worley, in the US.

Testwork results supported a robust circuit using direct and reverse flotation to ensure consistent concentrate grade production of 68%, which the company has said means that a phosphate content of about 31% phosphorus pentoxide could be achieved consistently.

The engineering and design of the plant indicate that additional equipment will be required, and includes work such as the installation of new stacked screens to optimise the milling circuit, additional flotation cells to float the coarse-size fraction of +212 µ; and ancillary infrastructure and modifications to the original plant.

In June, Kropz secured a convertible loan facility of up to $40-million from the ARC Fund, Kropz's major shareholder, for the development of Elandsfontein. The first drawdown of $10-million on the equity facility occurred on June 26.

Kropz renegotiated and amended the BNP Paribas $30-million project finance facility in June, extending the first capital repayment to December 31, 2022, and quarterly thereafter to September 30, 2024.

The amended agreement caters for an interest rate of 6.5% plus US Libor, up to project completion (expected to be December 2022) and 4.5% plus US Libor thereafter, payable quarterly.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA (engineering, procurement and construction management); Minopex (processing plant operation) and VDM Transport.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kropz, tel +27 21 930 0927 or email info@kropz.com.