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January 2017
MODERN MINING
45
Top projects
Drill pad preparation at Bisie
using local labour.
The company’s Chairman is Charles Needham,
who was CEO of Metorex when it developed
the Ruashi copper project near Lubumbashi in
the DRC.
Heading Alphamin’s DRC subsidiary,
Alphamin Bisie Mining SA, is Dr Richard
Robinson. The son of American mission-
aries who was born and brought up in the
DRC, Robinson has a wealth of experience in
the country and was at one point the Social
Programs Manager for the Tenke Fungurume
copper mine in Katanga in the south of the
DRC. He is based – with his family – at Goma.
Kamstra also notes that Alphamin has
retained two world experts to advise on and
contribute to aspects of the Bisie project. “We
have engaged Ian Dun to review and optimise
our proposed tin recovery process and we’ve
also appointed Tony Cox to our project team.
Ian is a leading expert on tin metallurgy with
over 30 years’ experience in the field while
Tony – whose background includes service
with Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and what
used to be known as Turgis Consulting – is an
underground mining specialist with very wide
experience of Sub Level Caving.”
He adds that Alphamin’s Camp Manager at
Bisie, Sam Mwanga, who has been based at the
site since 2013, has performed incredibly under
sometimes difficult circumstances.
Summarising the Bisie project, Kamstra says
that it is a tin project without peer which will
be entering production at a time when there
is a developing global shortage of the metal.
“Yes, the project has its challenges but these
are completely outweighed by its pluses,” he
states. “We’ve demonstrated in our studies that
the ore can be efficiently mined and processed
at healthy margins and that the project has sig-
nificant potential to grow.
“We’re definitely on top of the logistical
issues and we have an in-depth knowledge of
how to operate in North Kivu, based on the fact
that we’ve already been there for more than
three years. Moreover, this is a mine that could
transform North Kivu, providing around 450
permanent local jobs along with very signifi-
cant economic benefits in a region of the DRC
which has seen almost no foreign investment
thus far. In short, this is a project demanding
to be built and we’re very optimistic that con-
struction is just months away now.”
Report by Arthur Tassell, photos courtesy of Alphamin
Continued from page 36
TIN