Mining and QuarryingWithin KwaZulu-Natal there are diverse mining operations
for the extraction of a range of mineral products
including lime, slate, titanium, granite, and sand and
stone quarries for construction materials.
There are also production facilities for ferro-silicon,
ferro-manganese, aluminium, titanium, zircon and rutile. TitaniumThe titanium mining operations are located to the north of
Richards Bay in the coastal sands, producing about 1.5
million tons of export product per annum.
The mineral sand is transported 25 kms to the plant by
road. 36,000 tons per annum of slag is received on rail
from
Richards Bay. Sulphuric acid, caustic soda and hydrochloric
acid are received by road haulage from inland manufacturers.
Annual production is about 26,000 tons of titanium oxide
that is distributed in KZN and nationally, all by
road. Exported material is shipped from Durban.
In addition to the titanium oxide pigment, there is a by-
product of 37,000 tons of gypsum that is delivered by road
to cement factories in the Durban area. The cement
industry also uses the 7200 tons of tionite that is
produced as a by-product of the pigment manufacturing
process.
Titanium plant - Empangeni
|
Non-Ferrous MetalsA large plant located at Cato Ridge produces brass and
alloys from a variety of input metals such as copper and
zinc , which are used by associated foundries in the
Pinetown and Prospecton area to produce a range of brass
components and fittings. Ferro-manganeseFerro-manganese is produced at Camperdown from raw
material sourced by rail from Mpumalanga. The output from
the plant is exported through the port of Durban.
Ferro-manganese plant - Cato Ridge
|
Ferro-siliconFerro-silicon is produced at a plant located at
Ballengeich in the Tugela Industrial Basin.
CarbonatesThere is extensive mining of carbonates in the Simuna
area along the banks of the Umzimkulu river to the north
of Port Shepstone on the KZN south coast.
The quarries produce clinker for the cement industry,
which is railed to the cement works at Mt Vernon in
Durban. The 500,000 tons of clinker lime for the cement
industry is delivered to the rail siding by means of own
locomotives on a private line, and then railed to Durban.
Agricultural and industrial lime products are produced and
distributed from the plant in bulk and bagged forms to
destinations all over the province.
The 425,000 tons per annum of other lime products are all
transported by road to local and inland users such as
the paper industry, paint manufacturers, farmers and
cement manufacturers. Stone and aggregatesThe mining and quarrying of building, construction and
road maintenance materials takes place at a wide range of
sites in KZN including Durban (Coedmore), Felixton,
Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone, Greytown, Newcastle and
other centres. The overall volume of material produced is
not known, but it is a significant additional volume of
road transport on the routes used to and from the quarries. GraniteGranite for building purposes is mined in the Newcastle
and Vryheid areas. Building SandThere are extensive sand mining operations at a number of
points in the province, mainly located on the major rivers
that are the primary source of sand from erosion of the
sandstone of the interior escarpment.
The interior of the province is deficient in building
sand so that coastal operations supply sand for some
distance into the interior by road transport.
Operations are found at Stanger, Richards Bay, Melville,
Pongola, Mtwalume, Port Shepstone and Durban. Transport of MineralsThe mining operations in the province are nearly all
dependent on road transport for raw materials and
distribution of their products, with the exception of the
carbonates on rail from Port Shepstone to Durban.
|
