SamQuarz Silica Mine

Date of acquisition:

September 2004

Location:

10km east of Delmas, Mpumalanga Province

Type of operation:

Open pit

Commodity:

High-quality silica and chert

Reserves and Resources:

Quality deposit with Proven and Probable Reserves of 60.64Mt of quartzite and 11.48Mt of chert

Current production level:

1.26m ROM tonnes a year

Plant nominal capacity:

Silica plant – 1.5m ROM tonnes a year; chert plant – 0.75m ROM tonnes a year

Mining rights status:

New order mining right conversion approved and valid for 30 years

Total number of employees:

314 (including contractors)

Current markets:

Metallurgical, glass and construction industries in South Africa

Competitive advantage:

High-quality resource; long life of mine, over 40 years; technologically advanced processing plant; close proximity of mine to key customers on long-term offtake agreements

Capital expenditure FY2010:

R21.6m

In operation since 1955, SamQuarz is the largest producer of high-quality silica in South Africa, used primarily in the production of glass and in the metallurgical smelting process. In fact, the mine meets 32% of the country’s total annual consumption. The operation, which produces two key products — high-quality silica and chert — comprises a large open pit and processing plant.

With respect to geology, this quality deposit occupies a mega-sinkhole that formed in cherty dolomites of the Malmani Sub-group. The dolomites are overlain in unconformity by a layer known informally as the ‘giant chert’. Both the giant chert and the quartzite are part of what is known as the Rooihoogte formation. The current mine design indicates a combined final pit area of about 46 hectares at 23 level, which is a maximum depth of 230m below surface.

SamQuarz has well-defined markets for its products. It supplies a number of blue-chip companies in the glass manufacturing industry and metallurgical sector, including:

• PFG, Consol and Nampak in the glass sector; and
• Xstrata Chrome, Samancor, the Evraz Group’s Highveld Steel and Vanadium operation, Assmang and Siltech in the metallurgical industry.

The mine has also successfully penetrated the construction sector and is now aiming to develop new markets in the foundry industry.

View the Directors’ review on SamQuarz in the Annual Report 2010. (PDF – 139KB)