Good progress on iron ore project

The scoping study for Bushveld Minerals’ Bushveld iron-ore project in the Mokopane area is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013, Mining Weekly reported this week.
Located in the central portion of the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex, the project consists of two consolidated prospecting rights which cover four adjacent farms, about 65km west of Polokwane and 45km north-northwest of Mokopane.
Bushveld Minerals is targeting a resource of more than one-billion tons and is working towards turning the Bushveld iron-ore project into a low-cost mining operation capable of producing in excess of 10-million tons a year of a combination of titaniferous-magnetite concentrate and/or a pre-reduced product.
“There was 633-million tons of resource proved along a 4.5km strike and the potential exists to scale up the resource through follow-up drilling along the identified strike extensions of as much as 13.5 km,” said Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo.
Several applications have also been submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources for additional prospecting rights and Bushveld Minerals has started the process of identifying the parties that hold prospecting rights over the identified strike extensions.  The company hopes to secure the rights to the strike extensions in the next year.
The next phase of the programme will entail exploration over these strike extensions after the prospecting rights have been acquired, metallurgical testwork to establish the scope of producing marketable iron, vanadium and titanium projects, among others, as well as a market study for the likely products.
The work programme also includes an infra- structure study to determine the optimal routes for taking the products to market in a cost- effective way, and a hydrology study to identify the water requirements and sources for the iron ore project.