Empangeni – Tronox Limited announced today that the South African Department of Water Affairs (DWA) has approved the company’s Water Use License application for its KZN Sands Fairbreeze Mine in Mtunzini, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Granting of the water use license marks a major milestone for Tronox. It means that we can commence building the required operational infrastructure to have Fairbreeze up and running in 2015. This is great news for the region, our employees and business partners, and all the stakeholders who will benefit from Fairbreeze’s tremendous economic potential. As we enter this next phase, we remain steadfast in our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, and look forward to our continued role as an active and responsible citizen in the local community,” said Trevor Arran, president of Tronox Mineral Sands.
The Water Use License is the last environmental permit necessary for Tronox to begin full construction at Fairbreeze. The attendant water permit in relation to the water pipeline is in process and is required prior to start-up of the mine.
Titanium ore, zircon and other minerals mined at Fairbreeze will replace ore from the Tronox KZN Sands Hillendale mine that will cease production at the end of this year. Arran noted that Tronox has sufficient inventory to continue running its KZN processing and smelting operations at capacity during the gap between the end of mining at Hillendale and the Fairbreeze start-up.
The new mine will bring significant economic benefits to the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. The mine will preserve more than 1,000 permanent and contractor positions and generate an additional 1,000 indirect jobs. Tronox anticipates spending approximately ZAR530 million on services and products, more than half of which will go to black economic empowerment (BEE) companies. The development of infrastructure for Fairbreeze, such as a new electric power substation and water pipeline will also benefit the region. Post-mining rehabilitation of the site will support tourism, land preserves for ecological research and agriculture.
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