The Kwale minerals sands project covers an area of 56 km2 and is located in Kenya, approximately 50 km south of Mombasa (Kenya’s principal port facility), and 10 km inland from the Indian Ocean.
The project consists of an open pit mine and associated processing facilities, designed to process ore to produce up to an average of 1,700 t/h run-of-mine feed over the nominal 13 year life of the operation.
The mineral reserve includes ilmenite, rutile and zircon. The operation will be supported by a supply chain that includes onsite product stockpile facilities, port and road infrastructure.
The Kwale processing includes a dry mining unit, wet concentrator plant and mineral separation plant.
Ausenco has had a long association with the Kwale project having previously undertaken the design of a wet concentrator plant and a mineral separation plant as part of a definitive feasibility study prepared in 2006.
In 2010 - 2011 we contributed to an enhanced definitive feasibility study report for the project. Our scope of work included the process plant, associated infrastructure, (water and power reticulation, site buildings and offices, workshops, warehouses, laboratory), and the product storage shed located at the port.
We continued our association with this project and provided EPCM services for the process plant and ancillary infrastructure.
This important project has a high level of support from the Government of Kenya and the local community and was delivered mostly by local labour.