The Zanaga Iron Ore Project

Location

The Zanaga Project is located in the south west of the Republic of Congo, close to the border with Gabon and approximately 300 km northeast of the port city of Pointe Noire and 250km northwest of the capital Brazzaville.

 

The Project

The Zanaga Project is planned to be a large scale iron ore mine, processing and infrastructure operation to produce 30Mtpa of high grade iron ore (pellet feed) concentrate over a 30 year life of mine and developed in two stages.

  • Stage One – 12Mtpa of pellet feed
  • Stage Two – 18Mtpa expansion to 30Mtpa of pellet feed

The primary facilities for the Project will include:

  • An open pit mining operation and associated process plant and mine infrastructure
  • Slurry pipeline for transport of iron ore concentrate from the mine to the port facilities
  • Port facilities and infrastructure for dewatering and handling of the iron ore products for export to the global sea-borne iron ore market located within a proposed third party constructed port facility

Feasibility Study Highlights

  • Stage One 12Mtpa initial operation
    • $32/t FOB bottom quartile operating costs including royalty
    • $2.2bn capital expenditure
    • Premium quality 66% Fe content iron ore pellet feed product
  • Stage Two expansion to 30Mtpa operation
    • $2.5bn capital expenditure for additional 18Mtpa production
    • $26/t FOB bottom quartile operating costs including royalty
    • Premium quality 67.5% Fe content iron ore pellet feed product
  • Benefits of Staged Development
    • Lowers capital and execution risk
    • Reduces financing requirements
    • Maximises return on capital

Permitting

  • Environmental Permit received
  • Mining Licence received
  • Mining Convention in place

Potential DSO

There is an opportunity to supplement the Project’s pipeline pellet feed production with up to 2Mtpa of direct shipping ore (“DSO”). The defined mineral resource includes some high grade material that can be classified as DSO and an area of the deposit has been identified that includes a concentration of material at surface which can be simply crushed and screened to produce a saleable iron ore lump and / or fines product without any requirement for beneficiation.

Any decision to proceed with the DSO operation will be dependent upon confirmation of a suitable transport solution, including obtaining access to rail and port infrastructure on acceptable terms.

Project Next Steps

The Project team are progressing key value-adding activities on the project. These important preparatory steps will place the Project in a position to seek financing and progress to development when market conditions are favourable. These value adding activities include the establishment of port and power agreements, and issue of the environmental permit.

In addition, the Project Team are investigating the potential for commencement of smaller scale production by utilising existing and improved logistics infrastructure.