Views
3 years ago

Northern Cape Business 2020/21 edition

  • Text
  • Development
  • Africa
  • Tourism
  • Sectors
  • Agriculture
  • Trade
  • Business
  • Investment
  • Infrastructure
  • Cape
  • Mining
  • African
  • Zinc
  • Kimberley
  • Province
  • Municipality
  • Economic
  • Northern
The 2020/21 edition of Northern Cape Business is the 10th issue of this highly successful publication that has, since its launch in 2009, established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Northern Cape Province. Officially supported and used by the Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Northern Cape Business is unique as a business and investment guide that focuses exclusively on the province. In addition to comprehensive overviews of sectors of the economy, this publication has a particular focus on specific, packaged, investment opportunities. These include plans for the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) within the province, which have specific incentives designed to make investment into the Northern Cape even more attractive. The hi-tech exploits of astronomers and engineers in search of a landspeed record are the focus of an article on engineering sector while the rapidly expanding solar energy sector which continues to attract significant capital is discussed in some detail.

SPECIAL FEATURE Anchor

SPECIAL FEATURE Anchor investment The value proposition of the Namakwa SEZ is based on the existence of the Vedanta Gamsberg Zinc Mine and the proposed building of a smelter by Vedanta Zinc International. These would be the anchor tenants of the SEZ. In 2010 Vedanta Resources acquired Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd from Anglo American. Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd, part of Vedanta Zinc International, owns and operates the Gamsberg Zinc Mine. By 2014 environmental authorisation had been granted to Vedanta, together with a waste management and water-use licence. Versatile zinc offers great investment opportunities Zinc is an incredibly versatile and useful product so there are many investment opportunities related to Gamsberg and the proposed smelter within the Namakwa SEZ. Uses of zinc Coats and protects steel from corrosion, temperature and oxygen. Used in the automotive parts industry for door-lock housing, pawls, retractor gears and pulleys in seatbelt systems, camshafts and sensor components. Zinc oxide is widely used in the manufacture of several products such as paints, rubber, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, inks, soaps, batteries, textiles and electrical equipment. Development work began in June 2016 and the mine is currently mining four-million tons per annum and producing up to 250 000/tpa of zinc metal in concentrate for export. The mine’s approved capacity to produce zinc and lead concentrate is 10-million/ tpa. The planned increase in volumes will lead to the concentrator plant producing 1.1-million/tpa of zinc and lead concentrate. The opencast mine and concentrator plant are being developed in phases. The construction of the concentrator plant began in 2017 with the official opening in February 2019. Phase 1 is complete, and planning work for the commencement of Phase 2 is currently underway. Identified investment opportunities Fertiliser phosphates Sulphuric acid as by-product could allow for the establishment of a sulphuric acid plant to support and stimulate agriculture in the province. Zinc-coated steel The availability of locally-produced zinc concentrate creates production opportunities at steel plants throughout the country. Battery storage Zinc is a cheaper product than lithium for use in newtechnology batteries. New technology is creating opportunities for zinc-bromide redox flow batteries. Copper smelter project Potential for further exploration and mining in the region, which the smelter could stimulate. NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020/21 14

SPECIAL FEATURE Smelter It is proposed that a smelter be built to treat zinc concentrate produced at Gamsberg. The zinc concentrate produced at the existing concentrator plant will be treated in the smelter using the conventional roast-leachelectrowinning (R-L-E) process. The full process would involve the treatment of 680 000/tpa of zinc concentrate to produce 300 000/tpa of high-grade zinc ingots for export. As a by-product 450 000/tpa of 98.5% pure sulphuric acid will be produced for both export and consumption within South Africa*. Various types of infrastructure will be needed to support the smelter. These include: • Secured landfill facility: 21ha in extent and situated 1km away from the smelter, connected by a paved road. • New water pipeline: Approximately 7km water pipeline to connect the Horseshoe reservoir with the smelter complex. • Business partner camp: 12ha for accommo-dation during the construction period. • Laydown area: 15ha for use during the construction period. • Upgrade of transmission line: upgrade 66kV transmission line to 132kV transmission line within the existing servitude and associated upgrades to the Eskom substation at Aggeneys. In 2018 alone, Vedanta spent R44-million on skills development, health, enterprise development and municipal infrastructure support, with a further R77.5-million spent with local businesses. In the period 2014 – 2019, Vedanta over R77 million on a range of CSR programs, and over R88 million on various training initiatives. Gamsberg is considered one of the most digitally advanced mines in South Africa, which will give impetus to the provincial ICT sector. Downstream investment Non-ferrous metals such as zinc have characteristics that make them immensely useful in a wide range of downstream applications. Resistance to corrosion and their non-magnetic qualities are among the reasons for the wide range of uses to which they can be put. It is envisaged that investors wanting to take advantage of the by-products of the mine and the smelter will be attracted to the Namakwa SEZ. Various wastes and by-products will be generated by the smelter that could be useful to investors. Waste includes: Iron cake stabilized (dry), Jarofix; effluent treatment plant cake (dry); evaporation pond salts (dry); and cellhouse sludge (dry). By-products include: manganese cake (dry); Cu-Cd cement (dry); Co-Ni cement (dry); and sulphuric acid (wet). Investors in this category include businesses in the follow sectors: 15 NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020/21

Other recent publications by Global Africa Network: