The world’s eighth biggest and Africa’s largest integrated zinc producer, the Skorpion Zinc Mine, has been idle for nearly four years.
The Indian company Vedanta Resources Plc placed the mine, which had been in operation since 2003, under care and maintenance in May 2020.
Efforts to sell Skorpion Zinc Mine and other assets to Hindustan Zinc for US$2.9 billion in January 2023 collapsed because shareholders did not approve it.
Vedanta Zinc International, the custodian of Vedanta Limited’s zinc assets in Africa, is a grouping of zinc assets located in South Africa and Namibia.
Skorpion Zinc Mine, Black Mountain Mining, and Gamsberg Mine in South Africa fall under Vedanta Zinc International.
Known as the Jewel in the Desert, Skorpion Zinc Mine has the only zinc refinery in Africa. NamZinc manages the refinery inside the eastern boundary of the Tsau //Khaeb National Park (formally known as the Sperrgebiet).
The mine, just about 25km from Rosh Pinah town, employed 1.800 workers at its peak, but now a small team of 35 people has been kept to look after the mine assets.
Christo Carlo Witboo, the Skorpion Zinc Mine care and maintenance manager, told The Extractor that they are still working on the plan to bring the mine and the refinery back into operation.
Although Witbooi could not say much about the progress at the mine, he said they had done preconstruction work.
Witbooi referred The Extractor to the mother company’s website.
The Anglo-American Corporation discovered the zinc deposit in 1976.
A subsidiary of Anglo-American Corporation, Erongo Mining and Exploration, carried out exploration work from 1976 until 1982.
A British company, Reunion Mining, conducted a feasibility study on the project in 1996 and earned a 60% interest.
However, Anglo-American Corporation returned in 1999 and bought off Reunion Mining to become a 100% shareholder.
The Anglo-American board approved the project and budgeted US$454 million in 2000. The first earthworks and construction started in January 2001, with mining operations commencing in September 2001.
The refinery was commissioned in October 2002, and the first ore was produced in 2003 when Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, officially opened the mine.
Skorpion Zinc Mine produced 119,200 tonnes in 2004 at a 95% capacity. In 2005, the mine produced 132,800 tonnes. There were some problems – first in February 2008 when a tank house caught fire, and then in 2009 when there were power supply interruptions. This resulted in the mine producing 150,400 tonnes.
In December 2010, Anglo-American Corporation sold Skorpion Zinc to Vedanta Zinc International for US$707 million. Vedanta’s subsidiary, Sterlite Industries, moved the deal.
When Vedanta took over, Skorpion Zinc’s envisaged life of mine was 2014, but the Indian company invested US$1.6 billion to extend the life of the pit and US$25 million to explore mines in the nearby areas.
Vedanta also planned to turn Skorpion Zinc into an underground mine by drilling 40,000 metres in 2017, compared with an average of 7,000 metres annually.
However, Vedanta could only extend the mine’s life to 2020 after expanding Pit 112 after the mine was once again dogged with problems in May 2019.
A fact sheet produced in January 2018 indicates that Skorpion Zinc’s reserve and resource were 26 MT (3 MT zinc), giving a life of mine to 2020.
Vedanta also considered processing a 6Mt stockpile of low-grade zinc ore and processing more than 100,000 tonnes of copper mined as waste. However, problems emerged again when operations at the refinery were suspended for four months, from November 2019 to January 2020, because of issues with the open pit.
Then Covid-19 hit the world, and Namibia was not spared.
The current main focus at Skorpion Zinc is the Refinery Conversion Project to co-treat sulphide and oxide ore.
Namzinc Refinery Conversion project
Vedanta Zinc International announced it was working on a N$6.5 billion project to make Namibia the only country in Africa to produce refined special high-grade zinc for export.
Dubbed the Namzinc Refinery Conversion, the project was expected to create close to 2000 KT, with planned production peaking at 150KT per annum. With the introduction of the latest technology, production was expected to be 300KT per year.
“Once construction is completed, the refinery processes zinc concentrate from Gamsberg South Africa, adds value in Namibia, and exports the refined product.
“Not only in South Africa but elsewhere in SADC and beyond. It will potentially benefit zinc concentrates from local zinc mines in Namibia, which will export refined products,” Vedanta International said.
The company added that Skorpion Zinc will also produce sulphuric acid, which may be available for local and export markets, depending on the availability and affordability of power.
NamZinc also sought permission to transport 314,000 tonnes of zinc sulphide concentrate from their sister company, Black Mountain Mining (Pty) Ltd, for processing at the refinery in Rosh Pinah using interlink trucks.
The processing of this material will produce an excess of 75,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid per annum as a by-product to be transported within Namibia to local consumers and the Skorpion Zinc warehouse at the Port of Lüderitz for export by road over 293 kilometres.
Within the existing warehouse at the port, a purpose-built storage facility will be constructed to store 15,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid. The proposed design of the storage and handling facility’s foundation will include piling and plate work.
Piles and plate work (installation of mild steel pumps) are typically used as reinforcement methods in foundation construction to support heavy load-bearing structures.
Skorpion Zinc care and maintenance manager Lance Williamson told New Era in August 2022 that the feasibility studies on converting the Skorpion Zinc refinery to accommodate oxide and sulphide ore types had been completed, and some preliminary early works had been installed.
According to Williamson, should the Skorpion Zinc Refinery Conversion project be completed and ore reserves secured, studies showed that the refinery could run for an additional 15 years from the re-commissioning date.
Vedanta announces sale of zinc assets
In January 2023, Vedanta Resources announced selling its international zinc assets to Hindustan Zinc for N$51.5 billion. Skorpion Zinc was among the assets Vedanta Resources wanted to sell. Hindustan Zinc would acquire 100% of Vedanta shares in Skorpion Zinc and 69.6% in Black Mountain Mining.
Vedanta Resources has a 65% shareholding in Hindustan Zinc, while the Indian government holds the remainder. The sale of the zinc assets was part of Vedanta Resources’ unbundling plans. The sale announcement came when Vedanta Resources was saddled with a US$900 million debt.
The plan to sell the assets failed in May 2023 because of a lack of support from the shareholders.
