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.

The processing plant will produce a final saleable concentrate to the expected specification of 68% bone phosphate of lime and about 31% phosphorus oxide using a flotation configuration of direct, followed by a reverse, flotation circuit.

Potential Job Creation
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.

Latest Developments
Kropz has reported that development on the Elandsfontein project continues to advance, despite ongoing restrictions related to Covid-19.

The Water Tribunal regarding Elandsfontein’s integrated water-use licence has been scheduled for September 3 to 5.

This follows after the South African government prohibited the tribunal from reconvening since March because of Covid-19 and the consequent efforts to maintain physical distancing between people.

The hearing, which is the outcome of a battle between the developers of the project and environmental activists, will determine whether Kropz keeps the water-use licence it needs to develop the Elandsfontein project.

The activists claim that the licence being used by the operation was awarded improperly, while Kropz is refuting the claim.

The processing facility also had to be modified to achieve the desired consistent phosphate grade, which involved additional testwork and equipment modifications.

Ongoing testwork results have been used to finalise detailed design inputs for the Elandsfontein project, while an engineering, procurement and construction management contract for the project has been awarded to DRA Projects South Africa.

Kropz has placed orders for several long-lead items for the processing plant, including stacked screens and flotation cells.

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.