Kombat mine to reopen in December
The Kombat mine, which has been mothballed since 2008, is set to reopen later this year under the management of Trigon Metals.
ESTER KAMATI
KOMBAT
The Kombat mine, which has been closed for about 13 years, will open under new management in December.
Technical services manager of Trigon Metals Sydney Garoëb said now is a good time to resume operations, as copper prices are the highest they have been in 10 years.
In addition, the mine has secured a renewed mining licence as well as funding commitments while “long-life mineral resources” have also been confirmed.
Kombat mine had been functioning for 45 years since 1962, switching ownership in 2002 from Ongopolo Mining to Weatherly International until its closure in 2008.
According to statistics from new owners Trigon, 12.46 million tonnes of minerals - 2.46% being copper, 1.55% lead and silver at 18 grams per tonne - had been produced during this time.
Commodity prices
Garoëb confirmed that the drop in the copper prices played a significant role in the closure of the mine in 2008 as sales were not generating the invested value.
In addition, water mismanagement caused underground flooding, leading to the closure of the mine’s underground mining activity.
Trigon, which acquired ownership of the mine in 2012, has commenced with on-site activities for the restart of the mine with the availability of significant existing infrastructure.
This infrastructure includes an 800-metre shaft along with two other vertical shafts and two decline shafts with ramp systems.
“The project is shovel-ready and on-site activities for the restart are already under way,” Garoëb said, adding that activities in preparation for the mine to open are in progress.
Such activities include the refurbishment of plant and office space, while staff employment is also under way. The mine hopes to employ 300 people in and around the town.
The first phase of the restart - slated for December - is open-pit mining, envisaged to process about 30 000 tonnes per month with a five-year life of mine.
Phase two of the restart will be underground mining, which Trigon hopes to double to about 60 000 tonnes per month. This phase is set to kick off in 2023.
The life of mine for phase two is 10 years and in this phase, employment is targeted at about 1 000 people.
Starting off as open-pit mining which will then be phased out to underground mining is “because we have higher grades underground than surface”, according to Garoëb.
He added that with surface mining, an average grade of 1.2% copper is expected, while underground has a 3.3% grade, which increases with the depth of the operations into the ground.
The mining establishment is now 80% owned by Trigon while a 10% share belongs to the state through Epangelo Mining Company. The remaining 10% belongs to Knowledge Katti’s Havana Investments.
Capital costs are estimated at N$ 129.69 million for phase one and N$317.02 million for phase two.
Operations vice-president Fanie Muller said corporate social responsibility projects such as a community garden are also a priority for the mine.
[email protected]
KOMBAT
The Kombat mine, which has been closed for about 13 years, will open under new management in December.
Technical services manager of Trigon Metals Sydney Garoëb said now is a good time to resume operations, as copper prices are the highest they have been in 10 years.
In addition, the mine has secured a renewed mining licence as well as funding commitments while “long-life mineral resources” have also been confirmed.
Kombat mine had been functioning for 45 years since 1962, switching ownership in 2002 from Ongopolo Mining to Weatherly International until its closure in 2008.
According to statistics from new owners Trigon, 12.46 million tonnes of minerals - 2.46% being copper, 1.55% lead and silver at 18 grams per tonne - had been produced during this time.
Commodity prices
Garoëb confirmed that the drop in the copper prices played a significant role in the closure of the mine in 2008 as sales were not generating the invested value.
In addition, water mismanagement caused underground flooding, leading to the closure of the mine’s underground mining activity.
Trigon, which acquired ownership of the mine in 2012, has commenced with on-site activities for the restart of the mine with the availability of significant existing infrastructure.
This infrastructure includes an 800-metre shaft along with two other vertical shafts and two decline shafts with ramp systems.
“The project is shovel-ready and on-site activities for the restart are already under way,” Garoëb said, adding that activities in preparation for the mine to open are in progress.
Such activities include the refurbishment of plant and office space, while staff employment is also under way. The mine hopes to employ 300 people in and around the town.
The first phase of the restart - slated for December - is open-pit mining, envisaged to process about 30 000 tonnes per month with a five-year life of mine.
Phase two of the restart will be underground mining, which Trigon hopes to double to about 60 000 tonnes per month. This phase is set to kick off in 2023.
The life of mine for phase two is 10 years and in this phase, employment is targeted at about 1 000 people.
Starting off as open-pit mining which will then be phased out to underground mining is “because we have higher grades underground than surface”, according to Garoëb.
He added that with surface mining, an average grade of 1.2% copper is expected, while underground has a 3.3% grade, which increases with the depth of the operations into the ground.
The mining establishment is now 80% owned by Trigon while a 10% share belongs to the state through Epangelo Mining Company. The remaining 10% belongs to Knowledge Katti’s Havana Investments.
Capital costs are estimated at N$ 129.69 million for phase one and N$317.02 million for phase two.
Operations vice-president Fanie Muller said corporate social responsibility projects such as a community garden are also a priority for the mine.
[email protected]
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