Gamsberg
Location
Gamsberg is located about 30km from Black Mountain Mining (BMM) in the Northern Cape, South Africa. BMM is located at Aggeneys, a mining town in the province.
Ownership
Vedanta holds 69.6%. Exxaro Resources, a leading South African BEE company owns 24.4% and ESOP holds 6%.
Comprises
Gamsberg comprises an open-pit mine and a dedicated processing plant. and an estimated life of mine of 30+ years.
Production
Gamsberg currently produces 400,000 tonnes of ore per month. While the operational design is for 300 thousand tonnes of ore per month. During Phase 1, at full production capacity, Gamsberg will produce 4 million tonnes of ore from its open-pit mine and 250 thousand tonnes per annum of zinc-in-concentrate.
Progress
The feasibility study of Gamsberg Phase II is complete and has doubled VZI’s Ore Reserves from 214 million tonnes to 525 million tonnes. Gamsberg Phase 2 will attract a Capital Investment of ZAR 5.5 billion and double the current production to 500 thousand tonnes per annum, bringing South Africa onto the Global Zinc Map.
Phase II of the Gamsberg Mine will create 600 permanent jobs with 2000 jobs during the construction phase. Our current mineral reserves and resources show a potential Life of mine of 50 years.
Phase II of the Gamsberg Mine will create 600 permanent jobs with 2000 jobs during the construction phase. Our current mineral reserves and resources show a potential Life of mine of 50 years.
Legacy
Discovered more than 40 years ago and held undeveloped in the asset portfolios of various mining companies, it was acquired from Anglo American by the Vedanta group in 2011, to form part of the Black Mountain Mining complex. Vedanta gave the project the go-ahead in 2014, and the first blast occurred in mid-2015 just eight months later. President Cyril Ramaphosa officially inaugurated Gamsberg on 28 February 2019.
Employees
Gamsberg employs more than 1200 permanent employees. More than half of the employees are recruited from the Northern Cape, with over 25% from local communities. Gamsberg employed 3,000 people during the construction of the operation.
Communities
Community development initiatives are prioritized according to local needs and include:
- Social investment (health, education, and livelihoods)
- Bio-investment (water harvesting, agriculture, and social forestry)
- Environmental conservation
Biodiversity
This has required extensive engagement with key stakeholders – government, NGOs, and landowners, which has resulted in a unique biodiversity offset agreement. The project team is working in close partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's oldest and largest environmental organisation, and in compliance with the Vedanta Sustainable Development Framework to ensure effective implementation of the agreement.
Future
Vedanta is simultaneously pursuing a feasibility study into the development and construction of a smelter-refinery complex, which speaks to both Vedanta and the Government’s commitment to local metal beneficiation.