NMDC to set up pilot gold processing plant in Tanzania

Kolkata: In its maiden gold mine venture, NMDC, India’s largest iron ore miner, is setting up a pilot plant in Tanzania for processing the yellow metal at an investment of around Rs 50 crore.

In February last year, the East African country had granted NMDC four gold mining leases for an area of 38.83 sq. km for 10 years.

After mining part of the area for more than a year, the company is setting up the pilot plant, which will be upgraded to a full-fledged gold processing facility in the near future, a senior official told Business Line. The plant would be able to process 100 tonnes per hour of gold bearing ores, added the official, who did not want to be named.

It has also been pursuing untapped gold-bearing assets in Australia on some 560 sq. km through its majority controlled Legacy Iron Ore Ltd.

However, NMDC’s main focus is on iron ore exploration in Australia rather than gold or coal, sources said. Legacy Iron Ore said fieldwork at its Mt. Bevan iron ore project in Western Australia targeting the so-called direct shipping ore would begin this week. Direct shipping ore, or DSO, can be fed directly into iron-making blast furnaces.

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, NMDC has also been trying to explore gold assets.

Decade-long efforts
NMDC’s exploratory efforts in the north-west part of Tanzania for more than a decade are going to bear fruit now. Between 2000 and 2003, it had carried out gold exploration in north-west Tanzania at a cost of around Rs 7 crore.

It identified rich deposits of gold in Siga Hill area in Kahama district and Bulyang'Ombe area in Nzega district. The company has recently been granted retention licence at Siga Hill and prospecting licence renewal for Masabi East area.

The NMDC board had decided to take up the mining project in Bulyang'Ombe I and II fields first for development. Initial studies revealed that Bulyang'Ombe I had a prospect for good concentration where gold values were, although erratic, shown a maximum of 7.2 gm per tonne (g/t), which is close to the top quality standard of 8 to 10g/t set by the World Gold Council.