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March 2017
MODERN MINING
41
MINING CONTRACTING
The winners of the Investment Battlefield Competition at the recent Mining Indaba were an-
nounced by Harry Chapman (left), Director of Content for the Mining Indaba, and Nthabi Led-
waba, Investment Committee Member, JSS Empowerment Mining Fund (photo: Mining Indaba).
and all permissions checked and
validated. In addition, a Bankable
Feasibility Study (BFS) will need to
have been completed.
When the Fund was introduced
to the media in late January this
year, there were already eight pro-
spective projects in the pipeline
totalling R703 million, mainly in
coal and anthracite, with the small-
est needing R30 million to get
into production and largest R185
million. Since then, multiple appli-
cations in the platinum, chrome
and gold space, in addition to fur-
ther coal applications, have also
been received.
The involvement of Stefanutti
Stocks will provide investors with
the assurance that projects backed
by the Fund are implemented to
the highest technical standards.
The group’s mining arm, Stefanutti
Stocks Mining Services, has a
high reputation in its field and
offers expertise in opencast min-
ing, bulk materials handling, and
waste residue disposal and recov-
ery facilities. Where necessary, it
can also bring underground mining
skills to bear as Stefanutti Stocks
and underground mining contrac-
tor Redpath Mining (South Africa)
recently announced that they have
entered into an alliance agreement
enabling them to offer comprehen-
sive turnkey solutions for any type
of mining project.
The JSS Empowerment Mining
Fund was launched in February
this year in both Johannesburg and
Cape Town. The Fund had a high
profile at the recent Mining Indaba
and co-sponsored the new Junior
Miners Pavilion, including the
associated Investment Battlefield
Competition. The competition was
an innovation at this year’s Mining
Indaba and proved extremely pop-
ular with delegates. It saw mining
companies – 16 in all – pitching
their projects on stage to a panel of
investor judges, who provided live
feedback.
As we reported in last month’s
issue, the competition was won by
Consolidated Nickel Mines (CNM),
which is planning to restart the
Munali underground nickel mine
south-west of Lusaka in Zambia,
which has been on care and main-
tenance since 2011. The runner-up
was Sula Iron & Gold, an AIM-
listed company which is currently
focused on developing its Ferensola
project in northern Sierra Leone,
which is highly prospective for
gold, iron and coltan.