Marampa iron-ore project remains on schedule – London Mining
miningweekly.com
By: Chanel de Bruyn
26th August 2010
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The development of Aim-listed London Mining’s flagship Marampa iron-ore project, in Sierra Leone, was on schedule for the first shipments to be dispatched in the second quarter of 2011, CEO Graeme Hossie said on Thursday.
In an update to shareholders, the iron-ore mining and development company said that construction on the phase-one tailings operation was well under way, with civil earthworks nearing completion.
Phase one would initially result in the production of 1,5-million tons a year of iron-ore, before ramping up to three-million tons a year of production by the end of next year.
Production would start in the first quarter of 2011.
By the beginning of August, London Mining had spent $10,7-million of the budgeted $114-million in capital expenditure.
A prefeasibility study for the phase-two expansion would be completed by the fourth quarter of this year. Production in terms of phase two would start in 2013.
The mine would reach its peak output of ten-million tons a year by 2018, after which it would drop to steady state production of nine-million tons a year in 2020.
Meanwhile, London Mining and National Mining Company, its joint-venture (JV) partner in the Wadi Sawawin iron-ore project, in Saudi Arabia, were continuing to work towards securing an exploitation licence for the project, as well as to secure funding.
In July, the iron-ore miner reported that the JV required $1,9-billion in capital expenditure to build the project.
The JV partners were planning to develop the openpit project into an initial five-million-ton a year iron-ore mining and pelletising operation to produce direct reduction (DR) pellets for use by DR iron steel plants in Saudi Arabia.
However, the latest bankable feasibility study had shown the potential to expand the project to a ten-million-tons a year operation.
In Greenland, London Mining was hoping to complete a full feasibility study at its 100%-owned Isua project by the end of 2011. This would entail the completion of environmental and social impact assessments.
Previous studies had indicated that the project could produce ten-million tons a year of iron-ore concentrate over a 21-year life-of-mine.
Construction was expected to start in 2012, with first production scheduled for the beginning of 2015.
Funding for the estimated $1,74-billion capital cost for the project still had to be secured. |
