Highveld sees rich pickings in waste dump
Carli Lourens
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HIGHVELD Steel & Vanadium is faced with a significant opportunity to add to its fortunes by mining a gigantic waste dump that has been accumulating at its Witbank operations over the past 40 years.
The slag dump contains vanadium, titanium, iron and aluminium, among other minerals and metals. The prices of most of these have improved substantially in recent years.
HighveldÆs improved financial performance also meant it was now able to look more seriously at such a project, Coronation Fund ManagersÆ Dirk Kotze said yesterday.
He estimated it would require an investment of about $300m-$500m. If approved, the project would probably take a long time to materialise, he said.
Highveld CEO Andre de Nysschen said the company had been looking at the project for some time, but its feasibility had not yet been proved.
HighveldÆs shares touched a new high of R75,49 last month, mainly on the back of soaring vanadium prices. The company produces an estimated 30% of world vanadium supply.
The share price has been on a downward slide since last month as the global vanadium and steel markets appear to be entering a downturn. Vanadium is used to produce certain types of steel.
Vanadium prices are still strong at about $26/lb. The price has doubled in the past six months also as some of the worldÆs major producers ù excluding Highveld ù experienced technical problems, and after a major vanadium production plant was shut down.
Some deals in the spot market were now pointing towards an imminent downturn, said Kotze. It was now a matter of where the vanadium price would stabilise, he said.
De Nysschen said the balance between supply and demand was now ôfairly goodö.
Highveld is expanding vanadium capacity 15%-20% over the next three to four years.
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