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New dimension in Jupiter’s orbit

ewly appointed Jupiter Mines Ltd man- “We think there is a good opportunity to manganese prices and higher shipping
Naging director Brad Rogers has flagged consolidate through acquisition and cer- costs, both of which are beyond the con-
potential M&A as the largest manganese tainly the place to do that is in South Africa. trol of the company, this business – Tshipi
producer on the ASX seeks to take advan- We’re very positive about investing further and Jupiter through its ownership – have
tage of forecast demand for the key steel in South Africa because we’ve had such a produced very significant positive earnings
ingredient and emerging battery mineral. great experience so far.” and cash flow,” he said.
Rogers – former Bis Industries boss – Despite some headwinds in manganese “This is a very well established mine,
was unveiled as Jupiter’s new chief in the markets, Jupiter has still managed to pay it has first class infrastructure, it’s got a
weeks leading up to Africa Down Under, dividends to shareholders over that period, dedicated rail loop with more capacity than
joining Ian Murray (chairman) and Scott totalling 84% of its market cap of $392 mil- we’re utilising. As a result of all of that well
Winter (non-executive director) on a re- lion at the end of August. placed investment, the capex is super low…
vamped board with a specific mandate to Rogers said the new-look Jupiter board and we’re not expecting any major capex in
“grow” the company. had inherited a “very efficient and well run” the near-term future.”
Jupiter already operates the world’s operation at Tshipi. While steady growth of at least 0.5%
fourth largest manganese mine, Tshipi in “Notwithstanding a confluence of lower CAGR is forecast for steel over the next two
South Africa’s Northern Cape, accounting decades, the greatest demand for manga-
for 6% of global manganese output at its nese is coming from the burgeoning battery
current 3.5 mtpa production rate. industry.
Given Tshipi is located in the world’s pre- Rogers said diversification into down-
mier manganese district – home to 32% stream processing was also a possibility for
of global production and 80% of global re- the company in the years to come.
serves – Rogers said the company needed “It’s an opportunity that’s a few years
to look no further than its local neighbour- away,” he said. “The explosion in demand
hood for growth opportunities. for manganese is forecast to start occurring
“What we have in bulk mining terms is in a few years’ time, but that’s certainly an
a very efficient mine with very significant opportunity and that opportunity is new vol-
production and a very long mine life, and ume at higher margins.”
that presents an opportunity to consolidate
around that key asset going forward,” Rog- – Michael Washbourne
ers said. Brad Rogers

West Wits closes the gap

est Wits Mining Ltd managing director still process facilities in the area and we’ve
WJac van Heerden anticipates the “dis- engaged both of them to discuss and ne-
connect” between the company’s market cap gotiate a toll treating arrangement,” van
and its sizeable resource in South Africa’s Heerden said.
Witwatersrand Basin will evaporate once the “I believe we are quite far advanced with
ribbon is cut on formal mining activities in the that process. The minute we are able to an-
renowned gold-producing region. nounce that will trigger the project funding
Speaking at Africa Down Under, van process and will allow us to start mining as
Heerden bemoaned how the company’s quickly as possible.”
market cap of just $35 million did not truly A mining engineer, van Heerden said the
reflect the value of its 4.28 moz resource, of company’s location amongst more than 100
which two-thirds falls into the measured and years of gold production history, in the mid-
indicated categories. Jac van Heerden dle of Johannesburg, could not be underes-
“We hope as we develop the project that timated. West Wits holds a mining right for
we would gain the trust of investors that we ing Qala Shallows area which accounts for more than 2,000ha.
are no longer an exploration company,” van 668,000oz, or 16 years, of the overall life-of- “The benefit that we’ve got as a small cap
Heerden said. mine plan. company is we are starting a project right in
“I think that’s what sets us apart from the According to last year’s DFS, Qala Shal- the middle of a renowned mining area,” he
other small cap companies. A couple of lows is capable of achieving an average said.
years ago, we saw ourselves as an explo- steady-state production of 55,000 ozpa for “We don’t have to go into the middle of a
ration company but we are one of the few 10 years at an AISC of $US1,093/oz, assum- jungle somewhere and put two or three bore
companies that has now moved across into ing a $US1,750/oz gold price. Key financials holes down. We know the gold is there, it’s
real operation.” include a pre-tax NPV of $US180 million, been mined before and our objective is to
West Wits has completed scoping stud- IRR of 38% and capex is just $US63 million. basically continue on mining from where the
ies over four of the five mining areas it has “The reason why our capex is relatively guys left off previously.”
identified in the Witwatersrand Basin, in- low at about $US63 million is we decided not
cluding feasibility-level work on the lead- to build a process facility because there is – Michael Washbourne

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2022 Page 61