Iron Ore Opportunities in Swaziland

Project by Services – Due Diligence/ Mineral Analytics/ Exploration Project Management
Project by Mineral – Iron Ore
Project by Country – Swaziland
Project by Regions – Africa

Heading – Iron Ore Opportunities in Swaziland
As the iron ore mining opportunities diminished in India due to investigation of Shah Commission
and ban by the Supreme Court during 2013-2014, miners started to find opportunities in outside
India. One of our clients who rank among the largest miners in India wanted to invest in small low
cost iron ore prospect in Swaziland which is considered as the world’s oldest, about 42,000 yearsold.
They wanted us to conduct a project viability study.
Geovale engaged its mining and analytical team who have reach experience in working in South
African condition and analysing the iron ore market to conduct this project. We scrutinized the
project reports, production plan, grades, company’s shareholding structure etc. and presented to
the client.We started with the suitability of the country from investment point of view. Swaziland is a landlocked country, almost completely surrounded by South Africa. The terrain is mostly
mountainous and hilly. The mining legislation in Swaziland is pretty vague where royalty rates are
unspecified and in some cases negotiable. Plus private investors are restricted to 50% shareholding only – the King and government are entitled to get two free equity stakes of 25% each.It was mainly a hematite deposit with low grade of 44.5% Fe. Moreover the ore was available only from dumps. However, the cost of production was encouragingly low at $42/t which could be
trimmed down by improving operational efficiency and productivity. We suggested the client a go
ahead with prospect for further due diligence.