IMnI 2020 Annual Conference – Postponed to 2021

Assore is a mining holding company engaged principally in ventures involving base minerals and metals. The company was incorporated in 1950 and its shares are listed on the JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) under “Assore” in the general mining sector. The group’s principal investment is a 50% interest in Assmang Proprietary Limited (Assmang) which it controls jointly with African Rainbow Minerals Limited (ARM). The group, through its various joint-venture entities and subsidiary companies, is involved in the mining of iron, manganese and chrome ores together with other industrial minerals and the production of manganese alloys. The group is also responsible for marketing all products produced by the Assore and Assmang groups, the bulk of which is exported and the remainder either used in the group’s beneficiation processes or sold locally.

Autlán is a Mexican company engaged in MANGANESE, ENERGY and PRECIOUS METALS.  The company was founded in 1953 and has been recognized as a reliable supplier because

Kudumane Manganese Resources (KMR) is one of South Africa’s newest black-controlled manganese mining company in the country. Mining operations take place in Hotazel, and the management office is based in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. The mine was officially launched in May 2012 and manganese was reached by December of that year. KMR is mining at its York and Hotazel farms. Current production volumes are about 1.8 million to 2 million tons per annum. The company’s rail siding became operational in January of 2015, and by September 2015, KMR received rail capacity from Transnet as part of the rail operator’s MECA initiative. Cargo is predominantly exported through Port Elizabeth and Saldanha Bay, though KMR has shipped cargo through most ports in South Africa which Transnet has activated for manganese export.

South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company.  We produce bauxite, alumina, aluminium, energy and metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead and zinc at our operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America. We are also the owner of a high-grade zinc, lead and silver development option in North America and have several partnerships with junior explorers with a focus on base metals. Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people’s lives now and for generations to come, and to be trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.

Transalloys is a well-recognized supplier of silicomanganese globally, and the only silicomanganese producer in South Africa. The production plant is situated 14 km west of eMalahleni (Witbank) and approximately 90 km east of Pretoria, in the Mpumalanga Province. Manganese ore used in the production process comes from the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, which is known to contain 75% of the world’s identified manganese ore reserves.   The company was established in 2007 when the Renova Group, a Russian diversified investment holding, acquired the plant. Under Renova’s strategic leadership and as a result of the concerted effort by the Transalloys’ management team and the employees, the productivity and output of the plant were increased by 50% without the addition of any additional smelting capacity. The plant has the capacity to produce approximately 180 000 tonnes of silicomanganese per annum. In 2018 Renova divested 51% of its interest in Transalloys to Israeli and Swiss investors.   The plant itself dates back to the mid-1960’s when the first two furnaces were built. Currently, there are 5 submerged arc furnaces, with capacity ranging between 22 and 48 MVA. Transalloys is currently in the process of constructing a UHT oxygen blown converter, which is scheduled to come into operation in Q1 of 2020. Once in operation, one of the SiMn furnaces will be converted to HCFeMn production, as feedstock to the converter for conversion to MCFeMn.   The standard grade silicomanganese contains a minimum of 16.5% of silicon, 65 to 67% of manganese and a maximum of 2% carbon.

Introduction Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining Proprietary Limited is an independently operated and managed, black empowered manganese ore producer. Tshipi é Ntle means “beautiful steel” in the local Tswana language. Tshipi is not only the largest single manganese mine and exporter from South Africa but is also one of the five largest manganese ore exporters globally. Based in the Kalahari Manganese Field (KMF), the largest manganese-bearing geological formation in the world, Tshipi Borwa Mine is a shallow open-cast operation developed on a large and homogenous ore body with a currently confirmed life of mine reserve of approximately 30 years.     History Ntsimbintle Mining, a B-BBEE company, was formed in 2004 to pursue exploration and mining opportunities emerging in the South African manganese sector and successfully applied for prospecting rights in 2004, in an area between Kathu and Hotazel, in the Northern Cape. These rights were held in Ntsimbintle’s subsidiary company, namely Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining (Pty) Limited. Initial prospecting activities commenced in 2006. Eventually Pallinghurst Resources and OM Holdings acquired a stake in Tshipi. The Tshipi mining right application was approved in 2010 and after a 20-month construction and commissioning phase, Tshipi Borwa Mine railed and exported its first manganese ore.   Our Shareholders Tshipi’s success depends largely on its unique management style and group of shareholders who possess a wealth of technical, commercial and marketing experience in the mining industry, and have uniquely positioned the Company to take full advantage of its available resources in order to become the largest exporter of manganese ore in South Africa today. These shareholders today include Luxembourg registered, Jupiter Kalahari S.A. (JKSA) (49.9%) and South African registered, Ntsimbintle Mining Limited (50.1%) JKSA is 100% owned by, Australian registered Jupiter Mines Limited, listed on the ASX. Ntsimbintle Mining Limited is held by Bermuda registered OM Holdings Limited (26%), listed on the ASX, and South African registered Ntsimbintle Holdings (Pty) Limited (74%).   Operations Tshipi Borwa mine is a shallow open-cast mine with an integrated ore processing plant located in the Kalahari Manganese Field (KMF) which is a 400 square kilometer deposit in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The mine is located on the southern extremity of the KMF, northwest of Kathu and south of Hotazel.   Management Tshipi has managed to attract a group of experienced managers who are all experts in their respective fields to navigate the business from the historic project development to current operational phase. Our strong sense of technical and commercial expertise has enabled us to build a reliable brand and strong customer base which continues to grow as we position ourselves to benefit from the ongoing demand for manganese ore across Asia and the rest of the world.     Governance The pillars of our corporate governance are transparency, integrity, accountability and participation which guides us in managing our business, dealing with our people and establishing relationships with our stakeholders. we have put in place robust governance structures that enables a legal and governance compliance system that are closely aligned with the approach taken by the King IV Report on corporate governance.   Marketing Marketing of the manganese ore, mined by Tshipi, is dealt with by Tshipi’s three key shareholders, each having access to a prior agreed percentage of the available ore product, spread over the period of a particular financial year.   Logistics The first shipment of manganese ore was exported via Transnet’s Port Elizabeth Bulk Ore Terminal during December 2012, 13 months after the mining operations at the Tshipi Borwa mine, in the Northern Cape, commenced in November 2011. We make use of both Transnet Freight Rail’s rail network as well as road transport to transport our products to different ports being Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and we envisage to eventually export manganese ore from the deep-water port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape.   Closing Our business approach is to take advantage of our experienced and well-informed shareholders, a world class manganese ore deposit, a state of the art processing facility, a world class private siding and rapid load-out station, best of breed financial and corporate governance systems and a very dynamic team in order to maximise the economic value of the business for the benefit of our shareholders. We are committed to building and maintaining constructive, long-standing relationships with our stakeholders in contributing to sustainable economic and social development within the communities where we operate.

United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) is a South African company, mining manganese in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The Kalahari manganese fields are regarded as the largest manganese ore deposit globally. Established in 2005, UMK is 51% black owned and is the 4th largest manganese exporter in South Africa. In 2018 the mineral resources were estimated at 607mt with 200mt in measured and indicated categories.  Mineral Reserves for Open Pit Mining are estimated at 112mt that provides a life of Open Pit Mine of more than 30 years.

Assmang - Black Rock Mine Operations (BRMO) is one of two underground manganese ore mine operations in South Africa, mining both oxide and semi-carbonate ores.   Mining operations began in 1940, at the Black Rock hillock, and subsequently expanded to the Nchwaning mines and  Gloria mine in the Northern Cape. Gloria (commissioned in 1975) and producing medium grade semi-carbonate ore. Nchwaning 2 and Nchwaning 3 (commissioned in 1981 and 2004 respectively) and producing various grades of high grade oxide ore. BRMO is currently producing 4 million tons per annum, the majority of which is exported. Assmang’s well-established cooperation with Transnet in terms of the railway and port networks, makes it one of the most distinguished exporters in the world. Cargo is predominantly railed to Port Elizabeth and Saldanha Bay for export.   IMnI visitors will see the following:  

• Underground mining operations of Nchwaning 3, part of the Nchwaning Mine
• Underground mining operations of Gloria mine

Kalagadi mine & sinter plant  The Kalagadi Manganese Mine is situated West of Hotazel, off the R31 Road, Northern Cape. The mine is constituted out of three contiguous farms namely, Umtu 281, Olive Pan 282 and Gama 283, making a total area of 6300ha. It is a mechanised trackless board and pillar mine. This mine complex comprises the shaft complex, the ore preparation plant, sinter plant and bulk infrastructure. The mine has the capacity to produce 3million tonnes of manganese ore at a grade of 36-38% manganese and sinter at a grade of 44% - 48%.   Infrastructure Key buildings on the mine complex above the shafts which serve mining operations and underground plant are: Administration building, substations, workshops, refuge bays, conveyor belts, water pumps, winder gear, etc. The mine shaft winder house (machinery control room) containing cables, sinter plant / furnace, ore preparation plant, explosive storage, railway operations (the mine has 23km of its own track), power line of 132kV (property of Eskom) / substation of 40MVA, administration office building, 9 x 800KW Generators, multiple transformers, staff canteen, 2 x 60000L diesel tanks, water reservoir of 17 million liters, a maintenance workshops, sprinkler pump house, the staff accommodation and canteen block and the main security office at the front gate. The Underground Mine The shaft complex consists of two vertical shafts, the main shaft and the ventilation shaft. The main shaft is 9m in diameter, reaching a depth of 350m below surface. The ventilation shaft is 6m in diameter, reaching a depth of 317m. The two shafts are joined at the production level (281m) and the loading level (317m). The shallow depth means that there is lower seismic risk and lower rock temperatures that do not require refrigerated ventilation.   The main function of the shaft is the hoisting of workers, material and ore. The ventilation shaft is used for return ventilation and serves as an emergency exit. Ore Processing Plant The ore is processed through the ore preparation plant preparing the feed for the sinter plant. The ore is fed from the Ore Preparation plant through conveyor belts.   Sinter Plant (the largest Mn sintering plant in the world) Kalagadi beneficiate the ore to produce 2.4 million tonnes of sintered manganese at a grade of 44-48% manganese. The difference between the sintered output tonnage and the 3 million tons of ROM ore is essentially the CO2 and moisture that is driven off from the Manganese Ore, which upgrades the Manganese content of the Ore.   Kalagadi sells its sinter product on both the South African and International market.   Roads and the Railway load out station The site has a constructed 9.5km access road linking to the R31 main road, a Rapid Rail Load Out station and an electrified rail spur to ensure the efficient loading of bulk load trains and access to the main Hotazel Port Elizabeth Rail Corridor.   Other infrastructure,   The mine has a 2 x 132kV Power Line from Sishen to the Umtu Complex and the Sub-station, and an 11km water pipeline to the Sishen / Blackrock / Sedibeng water supply line. We have a 6km rolled out fibre network.   The mine started production of the Manganese Ore in March 2018 with the plant being operated 24/7 throughout the week, with written permission to operate on Sundays. It is capacitated through a team of 643 employees from the contract miner and 323 Kalagadi permanent staff members.

Kudumane Manganese Resources (KMR) is one of South Africa’s newest black-controlled manganese mining company in the country. Mining operations take place in Hotazel, and the management office is based in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg. The mine was officially launched in May 2012 and manganese was reached by December of that year. KMR is mining at its York and Hotazel farms. Current production volumes are about 1.8 million to 2 million tons per annum. The company’s rail siding became operational in January of 2015, and by September 2015, KMR received rail capacity from Transnet as part of the rail operator’s MECA initiative. Cargo is predominantly exported through Port Elizabeth and Saldanha Bay, though KMR has shipped cargo through most ports in South Africa which Transnet has activated for manganese export.   IMnI visitors will see the following:

• Internal rail and automated rapid LOAD-OUT Station infrastructure where Transnet wagons and road haul trucks are loaded
• Crushing of the ROM ore.
• The open pit mine operations

Mamatwan Mine is part of the Hotazel Manganese Mines consortium operated by South32. Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people’s lives now and for generations to come. We are trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.   The open-cut Mamatwn mine started operating more than half a centure ago, with the underground Wessels mine following a few years later. Mamatwan mine is a surface operation using the terrace mining method.   The ore is beneficiated using:

• Dense Medium Separation
• Sinter process

Manganese Metal Company (MMC) produces the purest (99.9%) form of manganese metal available in the world today. We are the world’s most experienced, largest and most reliable supplier of selenium-free electrolytic manganese metal (ElMn). We are a proudly South African owned company and the only producer of ElMn in South Africa and one of only two outside China.   Long-term relationships, high quality products and reliability of supply are pivotal to our success, along with our one-on-one relationships directly with end customers in diverse industries. Our experienced marketing team, dedicated to customer service, offers a full logistics function, stock in warehouses close to markets and technical support.   MMC is set for long term sustainability in terms of access to raw materials, process technology and HSE (Health, Safety and Environmental) compliance. With more demand on resources worldwide and growth in the production of electrolytic manganese, we are proud to remain the world’s most reliable supplier of the highest quality manganese in the industry.   More than 90% of sales is exported by MMC’s in-house marketing and logistics team, to a customer base spanning more than 110 active customers in 23 countries.  A visit to MMC will also offer insight into the EMM market structure, a unique part of the global manganese industry.

Transalloys is a well-recognized supplier of silicomanganese globally, and the only silicomanganese producer in South Africa. The production plant is situated 14 km west of eMalahleni (Witbank) and approximately 90 km east of Pretoria, in the Mpumalanga Province. Manganese ore used in the production process comes from the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, which is known to contain 75% of the world’s identified manganese ore reserves.     The company was established in 2007 when the Renova Group, a Russian diversified investment holding, acquired the plant. Under Renova’s strategic leadership and as a result of the concerted effort by the Transalloys’ management team and the employees, the productivity and output of the plant were increased by 50% without the addition of any additional smelting capacity. The plant has the capacity to produce approximately 180 000 tonnes of silicomanganese per annum. In 2018 Renova divested 51% of its interest in Transalloys to Israeli and Swiss investors.     The plant itself dates back to the mid-1960’s when the first two furnaces were built. Currently, there are 5 submerged arc furnaces, with capacity ranging between 22 and 48 MVA. Transalloys is currently in the process of constructing a UHT oxygen blown converter, which is scheduled to come into operation in Q1 of 2020. Once in operation, one of the SiMn furnaces will be converted to HCFeMn production, as feedstock to the converter for conversion to MCFeMn.     The standard grade silicomanganese contains a minimum of 16.5% of silicon, 65 to 67% of manganese and a maximum of 2% carbon.

Port of Ngqura   The latest development in the TNPA stables of ports, the Port of Ngqura is located on the east coast of South Africa, 20 kilometres north east of Port Elizabeth and midway between Durban and Cape Town. Officially launched on 16 March 2012; the Port of Ngqura is a world-class, dedicated and preferred deep-water transshipment hub for the sub-Saharan. The Ngqura Container Terminal celebrated its 10 year anniversary in October 2019.   Africa region with the design capacity of 2,000,000 TEUs. The Port offers an integrated, efficient and competitive port service for containers in transit to global markets within the region. The Port has a 4-berth Container Terminal which is equipped with world-class infrastructure, 1-berth Multipurpose Terminal, Liquid Bulk Terminal and the Manganese Terminal.   The construction of the Manganese loading facility that will be supported by the required rail infrastructure will increase the capacity from the 6Mtpa currently handled in the South African Port System to 22Mtpa, to accommodate the broad-based local mining growth, stemming from the global demand. Upon completion, this project will ultimately position South Africa as the global leading manganese ore exporter.   The Port of Ngqura is strategically positioned to accommodate and attract traffic which cannot access the Suez Canal due to size and other safety reasons. The port is also located within the proximity of the Coega Industrial Development Zone which provides an opportunity for product beneficiation. The design of the port was also governed by the site’s physical and environmental conditions. It is the only port in South Africa boasting an environmental authorisation Record of Decision (RoD) for its construction and operation, as well as an exceptional 0% non-compliance. Port Elizabeth   The Port of Port Elizabeth is a geographically well-positioned, customer-centric, multi-cargo port that prides itself on flexibility and service excellence. It is the gateway for expanding markets, and is not only linked with the rest of the world, but also has direct transport links into the heart of the African continent. Situated in Algoa Bay, on the south-eastern coast of Africa, midway between the Ports of Durban and Cape Town, the port has a container terminal, one of only five (Durban, East London, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town) in South Africa. Being a congestion free port allows it to maintain high cargo handling rates, fast and efficient ship turnaround and unparalleled service levels. The port is equipped to handle Dry Bulk (Manganese Ore), Liquid Bulk, Automotives, General Cargo and Containerized cargo. Passenger ships usually make use of the Multipurpose Terminal berths and facilities when calling at the port.   Manganese Terminal The port exports 6 million tons of manganese ore per annum. This commodity has been exported through the port since 1976. The ore is transported to Port Elizabeth by rail from four mines near Hotazel in the country’s Northern Cape Province, and then exported to mainly India and China.  

The Tshipi mining right application was approved in 2010 and after a 20-month construction and commissioning phase, Tshipi Borwa Mine railed and exported its first manganese ore. Tshipi is an independently operated and managed, black empowered manganese ore producer. Tshipi é Ntle means “beautiful steel” in the local Tswana language. Tshipi is not only the largest single manganese mine and exporter from South Africa but is also one of the five largest manganese ore exporters globally. Based in the Kalahari Manganese Field (KMF), the largest manganese-bearing geological formation in the world, Tshipi Borwa Mine is a shallow open-cast operation developed on a large and homogenous ore body with a currently confirmed life of mine reserve of approximately 30 years. Tshipi has an established and efficient export infrastructure, including a 8km private rail siding loop, and one of the fastest load-out stations in the Kalahari region with direct access to the Transnet rail link and ports in South Africa. The mine operates through drill-and-blast and load-and-haul mining techniques. At the start of the mining process, the top soil is removed and stockpiled in a separate area for later use during the rehabilitation phase. The various layers of the Kalahari formation are removed, followed by the harder banded ironstone, dolomite and manganese layers which are part of the Hotazel formation. Once exposed, the manganese ore is drilled, blasted and loaded onto a truck and hauled to the Company’s primary crusher which forms part of the processing facilities. The Mine is operated in terms of a contractor-operator model, which has allowed it to become one of the lowest cost manganese ore exporters globally and a flexibly scaled production process in response to manganese ore price volatilities and market conditions.

United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) is a South African company, mining manganese in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The Kalahari manganese fields are regarded as the largest manganese ore deposit globally. Established in 2005, UMK is 51% black owned and is the 4^th largest manganese exporter in South Africa. In 2018 the mineral resources were estimated at 607mt with 200mt in measured and indicated categories.  Mineral Reserves for Open Pit Mining are estimated at 112mt that provides a life of Open Pit Mine of more than 30 years.