Kudumane Manganese Resources : The Core of Kalahari Mining
South Africa is the largest producer of manganese in the world, we spoke to CEO Thembelani Gantsho about being front and centre in the mining industry’s subsector.
Kudumane Manganese Resources
A new breed of black mine Africa Outlook takes a look at the opening up of South Africa's Kalahari manganese fields and Kudumane Manganese Resources' R1.5 billion manganese mine. Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Debbie Clark Manganese is a strategic resource for South Africa and the Northern Cape holds approximately 80 percent of the world's commercial manganese ore reserves. It is used in, amongst other things, the manufacture of stainless steel – indeed, it is an essential component. According to the experts, South Africa's Kalahari manganese fields are capable of giving manganese ore to the world for next 100 years or so, and this puts the Kudumane Manganese mine in an advantageous position. The mine was commissioned at the end of 2012 and has produced about 80,000-106,000 tonnes of saleable product to-date. It is located about five kilometres from Hotazel and about 60 kilometres from Kuruman. Kudumane is a Japanese-backed joint venture between empowerment firms Dirleton Minerals and Energy and the Northern Cape Manganese Company. Each of the empowerment partners owns equal shares in each other and Hong Kong-based Asian Minerals Limited (AML), which has expertise in marketing and sales of manganese ore, owns a 49 percent stake in each of the two companies. It is a project we are excited about. So too is Sechaba Letaba, CEO of Kudumane Manganese Resources (KMR). "Manganese has regularly been described as one of South Africa's saddest mining stories because the country is home to the largest known manganese deposits in the world but infrastructural constraints have meant we…
