You are on page 1of 9

Kwale Project Overview

Project Overview

Project Setting
Special Mining Lease measuring 1,661 hectares is located within the Kwale Exclusive
Prospecting License area of 56km2 and is located approximately 50km south of Mombasa,
and 8km inland from the Indian Ocean.

The Project resource comprises two dunes that contain economically viable concentrations
of heavy minerals, which are separated by the Mukurumudzi River. These are the Central and
South Dunes. A third dune, the North Dune is not currently included in the Project.

Geology & Mineralisation


The Magarini Sands, which host the Kwale deposit, are of aeolian origin deposited as coastal
dunes after conditions of intense erosion. The poorly strati ed deposits form a belt of low
hills running parallel to the coast. Heavy minerals (HM), mainly ilmenite, rutile and zircon,
are concentrated locally and are abundant in some places. The deposits also contain a clay
and silt fraction of about 24%.

The general stratigraphic sequence of the Kwale deposit, as seen below, is composed of
brown sand at the surface, followed by orange or reddish sand, becoming more beige or
pinkish at depth. The base of the deposit is weathered sandstone from the Mazeras
Sandstone.
Typical Cross Section Central Dune at Kwale

Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves Estimate


Location of Kwale
Dunes

The Kwale Special


Prospecting
License comprises
three mineralised
zones, the
Central, South
and North Dunes,
which occur as
unconsolidated
dunes. Only the
Central and South
Dunes form part
of the Kwale
Project.

The total Mineral


Resources as at
30 June 2016
were estimated to
be 134.6 million
tonnes at an
average HM
grade of 4.2%.
Within this, the
Ore Reserve is
estimated to be
102.5 million
tonnes at an
average HM
grade of 4.6%. Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are reported in compliance with the JORC Code (2012) standards and are summarised as follows.

Mineral Resources

The total Kwale Mineral Resources at 30 June 2016 are shown in the table.
Deposit Mineral Resource Category Ore In Situ HM HM Slime Oversize HM Assemblage

Ilmenite Rutile Zircon

(Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Central Measured 35.4 2.13 6.0 24 0 59 13 6

Indicated 10.7 0.42 3.9 26 2 59 14 6

Total 46.1 2.55 5.5 24 1 59 13 6

South Measured 42.9 1.66 3.9 27 2 59 14 6

Indicated 40.8 1.25 3.1 26 5 52 13 6

Inferred 4.8 0.16 3.2 23 2 57 14 6

Total 88.5 3.07 3.5 26 3 56 13 6

Total Measured 78.3 3.79 4.8 26 1 59 13 6

Indicated 51.5 1.67 3.2 26 4 54 13 6

Inferred 4.8 0.16 3.2 23 2 57 14 6

Total 134.6 5.62 4.2 26 2 57 13 6

Ore Reserves

The total Kwale Ore Reserves at 30 June 2016 are shown in the following table.

Deposit Ore Reserve Category Ore In Situ HM HM Slime Oversize HM Assemblage

Ilmenite Rutile Zircon

(Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Central Proved 32.5 2.03 6.2 24 0 59 13 6

Probable 8.4 0.35 4.1 26 1 59 13 6

Proved & Probable 40.9 2.37 5.8 24 1 59 13 6

South Proved 38.9 1.56 4.0 27 1 59 14 6

Probable 22.7 0.75 3.3 26 5 53 13 6

Proved & Probable 61.6 2.31 3.8 27 3 57 13 6

Total Proved 71.4 3.58 5.0 26 1 59 13 6

Probable 31.1 1.10 3.5 26 4 55 13 6

Proved & Probable 102.5 4.68 4.6 26 2 58 13 6

Read the full 2016 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves statement.

Mining & Mineral Processing


Summary
The Kwale Project comprises the following major operational and ancillary components:

Dozer mining unit (DMU)


Hydraulic mining unit (HMU)
Wet concentrator plant (WCP)
Slimes and tailings disposal
Mineral separation plant (MSP)
Product storage and shipping
Power supply via a 14km 132 kV transmission line and substation
Process water supply from a water storage dam on the Mukurumudzi River and back-up aquifer sources

From the DMU and the auxiliary HMU ore is fed by slurry pipeline to the WCP where the slimes and tails are removed and a heavy mineral concentrate
(HMC) produced. The HMC is delivered to the MSP for separation of the three valuable products ilmenite, rutile and zircon. The products are road hauled
to the dedicated Likoni port facility where rutile and ilmenite products are stored for loading to ships via a conveyor system. Zircon is containerised and
exported through the existing Mombasa port container terminal.

A simpli ed process ow diagram is presented below.


Mining Operations

The Kwale dunes are amenable to the dozer trap continuous dry mining technique. For the rst 5 years, the mine will operate at between 8 and 9 million
tonnes per annum before increasing to 12.5 million tonnes per annum as the grade declines.
The ore is mined in 160 X 80-metre blocks using two
CAT D11 dozers backed up by two CAT D10s and
other ancillary mobile equipment and is fed to the
DMU where extraneous vegetation and other
foreign materials are screened out before the ore is
slurried with water and pumped to the process
plant. Subsequently the DMU has been
supplemented with the introduction of the HMU
that handles peripheral ore zones not amenable to
dozer mining.

As each block is depleted, the skid mounted DMU is


maneuvred to the next block to be mined.

Wet Concentrator Plant

The WCP is designed for a maximum feed-rate of

1,600 tonnes per hour and 120 tonnes per hour


heavy mineral concentrate production. The plant
feed rate is determined by the incoming ore grade
and stockpiling requirements and limitations. At
high feed grades (+5% THM) the feed rate is limited
by the production of HMC, while at lower feed
grades (-5% THM) the feed rate is limited by the
tonnage presented to the rougher spiral stage.

The slurried ore passes through a vibrating screen


to reject +4mm trash materials with the undersize
reporting to the primary surge bin. The slurry is then
subjected to desliming using cyclones to remove the
ne clay/slimes present in the ore, typically 25% by
mass. The deslimed sand is drawn from the
secondary surge bin and fed to a four stage wet
gravity spiral circuit comprising banks of rougher,
cleaner and recleaner spirals to produce HMC and
discard sand tails used to build the tailings storage
facility (TSF) containing walls.

The primary cyclone over ow, containing the slimes


fraction, reports to the thickeners. Flocculent is
added to aid settlement of solids to generate a
suitable solids density in the thickener under ow
for discharge to the TSF. Thickener over ow
water is recovered and recycled back to process.

Slimes Disposal and Impoundment

Removal of slimes from the sand before spiral


plant treatment is essential, and effected by two-
stage hydrocyclone processing. This demands a
high volume of process water (about 50 gigalitres
per year), much of which is recovered for
recycling. The slimy water is directed to two 38-
metre diameter thickeners, dosed with a suitable
occulant, and then separated into clear over ow
water and thickened under ow slimes. The under ow has 30% to 36% solids content, and is directed to the TSF for deposition, impoundment and solar
drying.
The MSP, located
adjacent to the WCP,
comprises the feed preparation circuit, the ilmenite separation circuit,
the rutile dry circuit and wet and dry zircon circuits.

The plant operates at a maximum feed rate of 90 tonnes per hour from
the HMC stockpile equating to a maximum annual production rate of
approximately 455,000 tonnes ilmenite, 85,000 tonnes rutile and
32,000 tonnes zircon. Changes in the ore mineral assemblage will
directly affect the proportions of these products.

Mineral Separation Plant


The MSP, located adjacent to the WCP, comprises the feed preparation circuit, the ilmenite separation
circuit, the rutile dry circuit and wet and dry zircon circuits.

The plant operates at a maximum feed rate of 90 tonnes per hour from the HMC stockpile equating to a
maximum annual production rate of approximately 455,000 tonnes ilmenite, 85,000 tonnes rutile and
32,000 tonnes zircon. Changes in the ore mineral assemblage will directly affect the proportions of these
products.

The HMC is upgraded using a combination of gravity, electromagnetic and electrostatic methods to
generate marketable products of ilmenite, rutile and zircon. The ilmenite and rutile products are
produced in bulk for sale to international markets, while zircon is typically bagged and containerised for
export.

Reject impurity streams are returned to the WCP for disposal with the sand and slimes tailings.

Likoni Marine Terminal

A bulk storage and shipping terminal has been established at Likoni, approximately 50km north of the
mine site.

The ilmenite and rutile products are road hauled in bulk in conventional 30-tonne road trucks and
discharged in the 80,000-tonne storage shed at Likoni. A mobile ship loader utilising conventional
conveyor technology loads at a rate of 1,000 tonnes per hour into bulk carrier vessels moored alongside
the dedicated wharf. Zircon, either bagged or loose, is containerised on site and exported via the container terminal in the port of Mombasa.
Supporting Infrastructure

Base Titanium has constructed and commissioned an 8.5 million cubic metre water supply dam on the Mukurumudzi River to provide for its process water
requirements of about 20,000 cubic metres per day. The surface water supply is back up by a bore eld comprising 4 bore holes capable of supplying 5,000
cubic metres per day.

Electrical energy is supplied via a purpose built 14km 132kV power transmission line and substation. Power demand to run the operations is 9MW.

Connecting access from the main coastal highway to the mine site is by way of 8km sealed road built by Base Titanium.

To see how the project was built go to Development History

Phone: +254 (0)20 513 0100 | Email: info@basetitanium.com | Web: basetitanium.com


Base Titanium Limited | Ukunda
P.O. Box 1214 | Ukunda 80400
Base Titanium Ltd 2017

You might also like