L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

derground mine was put on care and maintenance due to the depletion
of copper and nickel ores accessible for underground mining.
As the Selkirk deposit also contains disseminated ore reserves, a
feasibility study is now being prepared for the open pit mining of
these reserves and test operations are run.
Tati Nickel concentrates are processed on a tolling basis by the
BCL smelter located in 200 km from Phoenix. BCL’s high grade
matte produced from the Tati concentrates is delivered for further
processing into refined metal to customers. Currently, the first stage
of dense media separation plant (DMS) project is operating on the
Tati Nickel site.
In 2009, the Tati Nickel produced nearly 17,500 tons of nickel in
concentrate. (See production history on a 100% basis in Table 2.3.3.)
Table 2.3.3. Tati Nickel production history
Saleable metal 2009 2008 2007
Nickel (metric tons) 17401 20769 20861
Copper (metric tons) 13352 13297 12908
Platinum (‘000 ounces) 17 19 24
Palladium (‘000 ounces) 100 95 152
In South Africa, Norilsk Nickel acquired 50% interest in the
Nkomati joint venture as a result of the LionOre Mining International
Limited acquisition on 28 June 2007. The remaining 50% is
held by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) – a leading mining company
in South Africa. Nkomati is located 300 km east of Johannesburg
in the South African province of Mpumalanga and is the only
primary nickel producer in South Africa. It also mines other byproduct
metals, such as copper, PGMs and chromium.
The Nkomati deposit includes several ore bodies, the key ones being
the rich sulfide ore body (ore with high nickel content, with reserves
currently depleted) and the Main Mineralized Zone which contains significant
volumes of disseminated ores with lower metal grades. The
Main Mineralized Zone opens new production opportunities following
the depletion of the rich sulfide ore body reserves in mid 2007. The
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