The RBIDZ celebrated yet another major milestone on the 11th of April 2017. MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mr Sihle Zikalala and the New Zealand High Commissioner, His Excellency Mike Burrell presided over the signing ceremony of a R4.5 billion investment partnership between Nyanza Light Metals and New Zealand investor, Avertana Limited. The event was attended by a range of local and international guests.

This partnership will be bringing along proprietary technology into the manufacturing stream. The new plant will extract titanium dioxide pigment from 45 million tons of waste slag, which has been stockpiled by Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium at its Witbank operations since 1965.

Mr Zikalala said that growth in chemical manufacturing is is very slow in South Africa, despite the country being very rich in natural resources. He applauded Nyanza Light Metals for exploring and conceptualising the technical and economic viability of producing titanium dioxide pigment from the waste slag.

Titanium dioxide pigment is used in various products such as paint, toothpaste and food colourants. South Africa consumes around 35 000 tons per annum (tpa) of the pigment, mainly in paint manufacturing. The new plant will produce 50 000 tons of the pigment per year, most of which will be used locally. The rest will be exported to Africa and the Middle East. The country also has the second largest titanium reserves in the world and according to the Department of Trade and Industry produces approximately
19.5% of global titanium slag. Mr Zikalala said the plant was a ‘strategic’ investment that would help to ensure that KwaZulu-Natal remained the national leader in the production of chemicals.

“We are very excited about this project because it will have a huge impact on our economy and it will also create 550 permanent skilled jobs‚ 1 200 indirect and 800 jobs during construction,” said Mr Zikalala.

Mr Zikalala said work on the plant, in which the Department of Trade and Industry had invested R17 million for feasibility studies and a further R900 million as an investment allowance, have a positive effect on the local and regional economies.

Nyanza Light Metals beneficiation plant will be located in RBIDZ Phase 1F estate located in Alton. The civil and electrical works have commenced and the plant construction is expected to commence in 2018 with full production set to begin in 2020.

In line with the industrial development zone’s statutory requirements 20% of an estimated R300 million construction spend in Phase 1F, would go to local small, medium and micro enterprises. The initiative, Mr Zikalala said, was in line with President Jacob Zuma’s call for rapid economic transformation.

ADDING VALUE

The project will bring new technology to South Africa and help the government’s industrialisation programme and efforts to add value to the South African mining and
mineral processing value chain.

Avertana, which has developed a proprietary process to extract titanium from the waste steel slag, refines titanium as well as other industrial minerals and chemicals from steel waste with a lower carbon footprint than existing processes and with minimal residual waste.

“With the Avertana process Nyanza Light Metals will also produce aluminium sulphate, magnesium sulphate and gypsum as co-products”, said Donovan Chimhandamba, CEO of Nyanza Light Metals.