GRANDE CÔTE OPERATION by Outlook Publishing

G RA NDE CÔ T E O P E R AT I O N

ERAMET and MDL steers TiZir’s Senegalese project towards international prosperity www.tizir.co.uk

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GCO Ramps-Up for

Record-Breaking

Production Grande Côte Operation is well on its way to realising its potential of making Senegal one of the world’s leading producers of zircon, rutile, leucoxene and ilmenite minerals Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

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tretching 100 kilometres along Senegal’s coastline, Grande Côte Operation (GCO) has been developed over the past few years with a view to becoming one of the country’s most significant mining operations for generations, and is now beginning to unveil the fruits of its labours. UK-based TiZir is the Company entrusted with ownership and management duties over the duration over the expected 25-year lifecycle, from which an annual production of

50 million tonnes of sand is predicted to be extracted; ultimately resulting in 95,000 tonnes of zircon, 15,000 tonnes of rutile and leucoxene and 570,000 tonnes of ilmenite. The significance of such large-scale production is not just national, but international, with the Operation projected to make Senegal one of the world’s leading producers of the aforementioned minerals. Inevitably, to complement such extensive end goals, the infrastructural work that has gone on in the build up to production has been on a similarly

groundbreaking level in the country, incorporating not only the exploration and construction required to facilitate such works, but also in regards to formulating a supply chain stable enough to capitalise on the export opportunities arising from the mine. As such, TiZir is certainly not alone in promoting the potential of GCO, receiving appropriate support from the Senegalese Government who hold a

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10 percent free carried interest in the mine, as well as drawing upon the skills of ERAMET and MDL, the joint venture responsible for TiZir itself. “ERAMET and MDL’s complimentary skills are essential for the proper execution of the Grande Côte project,” GCO’s website explains. “Indeed, ERAMET brings its knowledge of extraction, metallurgy, R&D, logistics and marketing, while MDL shares its expertise in matters not only of project development, but also of extraction and treatment of mineral sands.” Moving from the position of Director of Mines at ERAMET’s New Caledonia operations, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Marini is the person now entrusted with continuing the Operation’s early momentum and ensuring that these unparalleled levels of production are realised as efficiently as possible.

Uncomplicated mining

Comprising a dredge, wet concentrator plant, mineral separation plant, rail, port facilities and a power station, GCO is officially one of the largest projects under development in the mineral sands industry, situated 50 kilometres north of Dakar and developed with the most sustainable, simple and appropriate mining and processing methods in mind. GCO explains: “The simplicity of the orebody allows for conventional dredging and processing. The dunes contain no overburden, minor

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Grande Côte is a significant deposit, the composition of which allows standard dredging and transformation processes

vegetation, free flowing sands and minimal slimes, providing for an uncomplicated mining operation. “The Dredge itself travels through the dunes and utilises the area’s shallow water table. It mines sand from the front of the dredge pond and pumps slurry to the floating concentrator. Sand is then washed through spirals, separating the heavy mineral concentrate from lighter quartz sand, which is sprayed out the back of the pond, restoring the landscape.” From there, heavy minerals are transported to the mineral separation plant to extract the various minerals, while a 36MW power station keeps TiZir’s extensive and continuous efforts ticking over on a consistent basis each day. “Grande Côte is a significant deposit, the composition of which allows standard dredging and transformation processes,” its website affirms. “The

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and the world. To service this diverse market, we opened an office in Abidjan from where we assist our customers, keep stock and distribute our tailor made big bags. Our model involves local presence, knowledge and production. Based on our growing demand, this means we are evaluating whether we open a local production in the future.“ Strong local presence LC Packaging has local offices and plants in 16 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The secret of its success: the combination of 91 years of experience, a dedicated local approach and a strong global network, with a strong focus on quality and a worldwide and highly valued CSR policy. For the African market this means local offices in the proximity of its clients, local own production locations and local partners and passionate employees with vast knowledge and great understanding of the needs of the diverse African market. The packaging expert is currently active in Southern Africa, including Zambia, DRC and Namibia, Western Africa, with hotspots in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mauritania and Ghana, and Northern Africa with Algeria and Tunisia as important markets.

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dunes contain little or no waste, vegetation or clay, allowing a relatively simple mining operation: a dredge operator progressively pumps the sand out of the dune and sends it to a floating plant in which the suspended sand is treated in a series of spirals. “In connection with the TiZir Limited joint venture, ERAMET has also evaluated the environmental, social, business and health components of the Grande Côte project, in order to ensure that site start-up operations are taken up in a responsible and sustainable manner, both ecologically and socially.”

Strong growth potential

Successful not simply as a result of its mining potential, the location of the area itself aids greatly in making it as profitable as it has been forecasted to be. Being in such close proximity to Africa’s largest international shipping port in Dakar, the minerals don’t have to travel far before being shipped to customers worldwide. “After processing, zircon is shipped by container, as is the rutile and leucoxene. The ilmenite is shipped in bulk vessels and is sold in the market and/or shipped for further processing at the TiZir titanium & iron (TTI) upgrading facility in Tyssedal, Norway,” the Company notes. “Here they produce titanium slag for consumption of the TiO2-producers, the Ti-metal industry and high purity pig iron for iron foundries. “TiZir has made it a priority to control all its own logistical needs from the process plant to the ship hold. The Company is highly fortunate in being able to utilise existing infrastructure, such as major rail and road links and the Dakar Port facilities.” This isn’t to say that there was a completely up-to-scratch transport infrastructure to leverage from day one however, with much of GCO’s work thus far going into refurbishing

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Increasing production on a quarterly basis

the rail line and linking it to a new 22 kilometre spur line, benefitting from controlled rail tracks from their treatment plant to their port facilities. Also comprising storage facilities at the port with the latest inventory technologies and loading systems, GCO’s access to market is in a prime position, as a result, to “take advantage of the significant supply shortfall in the mineral sands industry”, the Company emphasises. “The zircon and titanium markets have strong growth potential, driven by the urbanisation and growth of emerging countries, while the deposits that formerly supplied a large portion of demand have been exhausted. “In this context, TiZir Limited, through its Grande Côte project, has a true opportunity to become a key player in the field.”

2015 ramp-up

Entering the latest phase of GCO’s development and after years and years of exploration, feasibility studies, projections, construction and logistical preparation, 2015 has given the clearest indicator yet that the Operation is on the right path to be every bit as successful as had been hoped. Ramped-up this year, heavy mineral concentrate and finished goods production increased on a quarter by quarter basis; the processing of the first batch of 100 percent GCO ilmenite

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Bauer Resources is the global provider for services and equipment in the fields of water well construction, environmental technologies, mining and exploration, geothermal energy, oil-, gas- and mineral resources drilling. Bauer Resources has a regional structure with its subsidiaries focusing on projects throughout the world. In the different regions, the management has access to specialist competence centers pooling expert knowledge in the areas of water treatment, process and biotechnology, remediation and waste management, drilling technologies, and well drilling. They combine know-how from across the group and support the operational companies in their activities. Bauer Resources has state-of-the-art technical equipment and highly qualified specialist personnel. In addition to exploration and extraction, the Water division includes complete technical treatment of water and waste water for industrial use, as well as distribution of drinking and process water. The Environment division provides a comprehensive range of products and services for brownfield remediation. The focus is on decommissioning, landfill restoration, and demolition, supplemented by disposal services. In the Natural Resources division, the Resources group is involved in exploration, extraction, and distribution of various natural resources. The focus is on drilling and extraction services for the oil, gas, and mining industries. T +221 33 864 77 27 E BRE-EDH@bauer.de

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WAT E R , E N V I R O N M E N T, N AT U R A L R E S O U R C E S NATURAL RESOURCES Division » Drilling of exploration boreholes » Exploration, production and distribution of geothermal sources » Supply wells for pumping stations run by solar energy » Production, supply and installation of solar energy systems

ENVIRONMENT Division » Treatment of polluted water » Construction of natural rehabilitation systems by osmosis » Construction of irrigation plants for professional agriculture » Industrial installations for the food industry

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MECAL

ecal is an Australian manufacturer of magnet separators and magnet lifting systems, vacuum loader trucks and trailers as well as central vacuum cleaning systems, whilst also providing loading chutes for trucks and stock piling and ship loading. With more than 30 years experience in serving the mining and processing industries both in Australia and overseas, Mecal supplies reliable and economical equipment to assist its clients to improve their environmental control as well as material handling facilities for more efficient operations. The company’s engineering team provides technical support as much as required by the clients until satisfaction is achieved.

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TiZir controls its own logistical needs

was successfully completed at TTI; a furnace reline and capacity expansion project continued and is expected to be completed within time and budget; and pricing in the titanium market remained stable. Ultimately, products are meeting specifications and receiving positive customer feedback amid key stages of expansion in the overall project’s development. “Operations continued to ramp-up during the quarter with key focus areas being plant availability and tailings management,” TiZir revealed in a statement in August. “The floating wet concentrator plant is the focus of current attention with the plant not yet able to handle the volume of ore that the dredge can provide. “A range of discrete commissioning projects on both the dredge and wet concentrator plant have been identified and are currently being implemented. The projects are generally straightforward and minor in

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The ramp-up of the mineral separation plant continued to meet expectations with both the wet plant and the ilmenite circuit of the dry plant continuing to operate at design feed rates

terms of capital but will require some time to complete due to timing of equipment deliveries and associated engineering works.” With performance improving vastly as a consequence of this year’s rampup, not even an unexpected shutdown of the pre-production kiln earlier in the year has dampened sprits at GCO, with TiZir now looking forward to enhanced mineral production, export and profitability. “The ramp-up of the mineral separation plant continued to meet expectations with both the wet plant and the ilmenite circuit of the dry plant continuing to operate at design feed rates,” the Company concluded. “Ilmenite and zircon production increased to an average of 32.5 kilotons and 3.8 kilotons a month, respectively. “June represented the best month of finished goods production to date with approximately 40 kilotons of ilmenite and five kilotons of zircon produced during the month.”

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When you choose a high voltage cable coupler system for your operation, you expect: · 100% Reliability · Safe Operation · Life of mine performance Helping to deliver your project vision across all stages of the lifecycle

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Working collaboratively across the project lifecycle we transport ore bodies into valuable commodities. To find out how we can transform your ore bodies into valuable commodities call us today on +61 7 5569 1300 or email info@mineraltechnologies.com www.mineraltechnologies.com

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GRANDE CÔTE OPERATION Immeuble Atryum Centre – 2ème etage 6 route de Ouakam Dakar Sénégal