The red syenite of the Pilansberg complex as a nepheline source for the South African ceramics and glass industry

by Pantshi, Bukiwe.

5 1. INTRODUCTION 6 1.1. Statement of question 6 1.2. The hypothesis 7 1.3. Assumptions 7 1.4. Purpose of the study 7 1.5. Acknowledgements 8 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 9 2.1. Geology of the Pilanesberg Complex 9 2.1.1. Red Foyaite 11 2.1.2. White & Grey Foyaite 12 2.1.3. Tinguaite 13 2.1.4. Green Foyaite 13 2.1.5. Ledig Foyaite 14 2.1.6. Red Syenite 14 2.1.7. Volcanic rocks 15 2.2. Age of the plutonic rocks 15 2.3. Mineral potential of the Pilanesberg 16 2.3.1. Gold 16 2.3.2. Rare earth Elements 16 2.3.3. Dimension Stone 17 3. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF NEPHELINE AND ASSOCIATED DEPOSITS 18 3.1. Characteristics of nepheline 18 3.2. Classification of nepheline syenite ore deposits 19 3.3. Distribution of nepheline syenite deposits 19 3.3.1. Two deposits described for beneficiation 21 3.3.1.1. Table Mountain Deposit, Oregon 21 3.3.1.2. Bulls Run Syenite Complex, South Africa 22 3.4. Evaluation of raw material required in ceramics and glass 22 3.4.1. General testing and evaluation 23 3.4.2. General beneficiation testwork 23 3.4.3. Test for ceramic application 24 3.4.4. Test for glass application 24 4. THE CURRENT INVESTIGATION 25 4.1. Market study 25 4.2. Exploration programme 25 2 University of Pretoria etd Pantshi B 2006 4.3. Data analysis 25 5. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 26 5.1. Local market conditions 26 5.1.1. Ceramics market 27 5.1.2. Glass market 27 5.1.3. Local market investigation 27 5.2. International market conditions 27 5.3. Petrography and chemical composition of the Red Syenite 28 5.4. Resources and reserves and production rate 34 5.5. Benchmarking – nepheline vs. feldspar 35 6. PROJECT EVALUATION 38 6.1. Mine planning 38 6.2. Beneficiation 39 6.3. Rehabilitation programme 39 6.4. Costs 40 6.5. Financial evaluation 41 6.5.1. Inflation rate 42 6.5.2. Discount rate 42 6.5.3. Interest rate 42 6.5.4. Royalty 42 6.5.5. Tax rate 43 6.5.6. Beneficiated product (Scenario 1) 43 6.5.6.1. Discounted cashflow model 43 6.5.6.2. Sensitivity analysis 45 6.5.7. Unbeneficiated product (Scenario 2) 49 6.5.7.1. Discounted cashflow model 49 6.5.7.2. Sensitivity analysis 50 6.6. Qualitative risk analysis 55 TABLES Table 1 - Physical characteristics of nepheline Table 2 - Various nepheline syenite rocks Table 3 – Chemical compositions of processed nepheline Table 4 - World production of nepheline in 2004 Table 5 – Consumption of nepheline in United States of America 3 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 57 8. REFERENCES 60 University of Pretoria etd Pantshi B 2006 Table 6 – Individual sample analysis results and statistics Table 7 – Chemical analysis results of nepheline syenite deposits Table 8 – Comparison of the petrography of nepheline syenite deposits Table 9 – Petrographic classification of nepheline-bearing deposits Table 10 – South African production, local sales and export of feldspar Table 11 - World production of feldspar by country – 10 top producers Table 12 - Basic properties of feldspar and nepheline Table 13 – Discounted cashflow model for the beneficiated product Table 14 – Sensitivity analysis – beneficiated product Table 15 – Discounted cashflow model for the unbeneficiated product Table 16 – Sensitivity analysis – unbeneficiated product Table 17 – Qualitative risk analysis Table 18 – Base case comparison of the two scenarios investigated