Iron Ore
Beeshoek
Introduction
The Iron Ore Division mines iron ore in the Northern Cape Province mainly for export through the port of Saldanha Bay. Some of the ore is sold for local consumption in South Africa.
In 1964 an iron ore mine was established at Beeshoek with a basic hand sorting operation and in 1975 a full washing and screening plant was installed and production increased to over a million tons per annum. Over the years, production has increased to over six million tons per annum. Beeshoek South, a southern extension of the Beeshoek iron ore mine was commissioned during 1999 on the farms of Beeshoek and Olynfontein. This mine is provided Beeshoek Mine with a substantial portion of its iron ore with the remaining ore drawn from the older Beeshoek North operation.
Ore Mining and Processing
Both Beeshoek North and South mines are opencast operations. The ore is mined from various different pits. This is ideal for selective mining and in-pit blending to provide ore to meet customer specifications.
A crushing, washing and screening plant processes the run-of-mine product. A jig plant has been installed to beneficiate off grade ore, which has extended the life of the mine.
At the mine, a computerised geological database is used for planning, scheduling and grade control. The analytical results of all blast holes are continuously reconciled with the computer-generated grade models to ensure that the correct grade is blasted before being transported to the treatment plant. A continuous sampling process at various points in the treatment and loading plants ensures the production of a consistent grade of ore that meets customer requirements.
Product Quality
Ore is produced in grades with the following typical analyses and sizing:
Chemical Specification
| Specification for Beeshoek iron ore products | |||
| Element | Lumpy | Fines | DR Lump |
| Fe | 64.50% | 63.50% | 64.00% |
| SiO2 | 4.50% | 5.00% | 5.00% |
| Al2O3 | 2.00% | 2.50% | 2.50% |
| P | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.06% |
| S | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| K2O + Na2O | 0.30% | 0.35% | 0.35% |
| Mn | 0.20% | 0.35% | 0.35% |
| H2O | 2.00% | 3.50% | 2.00% |
Physical Specification
| Specification for Beeshoek iron ore products | |||
| Lumpy | Fines | DR Lump | |
| >25mm | 2.50% | ||
| <6.3mm | 5.00% | ||
| >8mm | 6.00% | ||
| <0.212mm | 18.00% | ||
| >18mm | 5.00% | ||
| <6.3mm | 5.00% |
Rail and port facilities
Railroad
Iron ore produced at Beeshoek is transported 60 kilometers by rail to Sishen where the trucks are transferred to the Sishen-Saldanha railway line ("Orex"). The Beeshoek siding facilities are capable of handling 400 trucks of 85 tons each per 24-hour shift and were upgraded to cope with six million tons of product per annum.
Saldanha Bay harbour
Saldanha Bay is located on the west coast of South Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 60 nautical miles north of Cape Town. The harbour of Saldanha is located in the northwestern sector of Inner Bay.
The ore and oil jetties are of the finger type and consist of 25 caissons, 17 of which support a reinforced concrete superstructure for the ore-loading jetty - four are for the oil jetty and four serve as mooring caissons. The superstructure serves as a roadway and access for the ship loaders and ancillary services.
Bulk ore is loaded by two buffing, slewing and traveling ship loaders, fed by a common belt conveyor and capable of operating alternatively on a continuous basis. The ship loaders have an achieved average loading capacity of 6 500 tons per operational hour and a peak rate of 10 000 tons per operational hour.
Future expansion
Transnet's export capacity should reach 47mtpa by July 2010. Assmang's allocation for the period July 2009 - June 2010 is 10mtpa. By July 2012 Transnet's export capacity should reach 60mtpa, of which Assmang will receive a 14mtpa allocation.