Rich Phosphate Mine Potential Off Namibian Coast

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As global food resources face a challenging future from increasing populations, phosphate has become one of the mining sector's glamour resources as a feed for fertilizers. Minemakers Limited (ASX:MAK) (Perth, Australia) is investing $140 million in the start-up of a marine phosphate project off Namibia's coast, which could produce 3 million tons per year of rock phosphate. The project could have a 25-year operating life.

The Sandpiper/Moeb (SM) Joint Venture Namibian Marine Phosphate (NMP) project is led by Minemakers (42.5%), with partners Sea Phosphates (Namibia) (42.5%), a subsidiary of Union Resources (ASX:UCL) (Spring Hill, Australia), and Tungeni Investments (Windhoek, Namibia) (15%), a local Namibian company. The SM tenement held by the joint venture lies 60 kilometers off the southwestern African Atlantic coast to the south of Walvis Bay, and is at a depth of 180 to 300 meters. The SM resource has a total resource of more than 1.5 billion tons of ore, with a phosphate grade of 18.8%. The Rocky Pont project to the north of Walvis Bay covers 4,000 square kilometers of licensed area and contains resources with indicated phosphate content greater than 20% by weight. Minemakers holds 70% of Rocky Point and Tangent holds 30%.

A scoping study reported that the SM project has high profit potential, with operating costs at about $55 per ton. A feasibility study will begin in 2011. Mining operations would be able to use available dredging technology as the phosphate deposits occur as unconsolidated sea floor sediments. The mined phosphate ore would be landed and then railed to the Richard's Bay ore terminal zone on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast for processing.

NMP is focused on an accelerated program for development of the combined phosphate areas. In addition to current efforts on resource delineation, investigations and discussions are being progressed with several organizations in the key areas of marine mining, dredging technology, beneficiation and potential product off-take candidates.

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