Lemur Holdings (Lemur), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bushveld Minerals, is focused on coal energy projects.
Its flagship project is the Imaloto coal-to-power project in southwest Madagascar, which consists of four exploration permits and one mining and exploitation permit – covering a total area of about 81,25 km².
Imaloto is an integrated coal-fired power project. It includes a 136 Mt coal mine, a 60 MW power plant, and a new transmission line stretching over 250 km.
It is the only coal-to-power solution being developed in Madagascar. The power plant is scalable from the current planned 30 MW to 60 MW and the transmission line is expandable up to 500 km.
The project has a total of 136 Mt JORC-compliant mineral resources, of which 92 Mt is in the measured and indicated category. In addition to a fully-executed mining exploitation licence, Lemur has two exploration permits covering a combined 87,5 km² in close proximity to the Imaloto Power Project.
The Imaloto power station will be located next to the coal mine, providing a captive market for the mine’s production and unlocking the intrinsic value in the underlying project.
Imaloto is perfectly-positioned to address Madagascar’s persistent power supply challenges, particularly in its least-developed but mineral-rich southern region. Currently, the southern region does not have a power grid and is almost entirely powered by isolated generators. In addition to substantially increasing the generation capacity in Madagascar, the initial 60 MW capacity of the Imaloto Power Project will form the basis for a power grid for the southern region.
This project is at an advanced stage. The feasibility studies for both the power plant and the transmission line were completed by Sinohydro, following a technical cooperation agreement signed in 2017.
The Imaloto project has a full mining right for the coal mine and a 30-year independent power producer concession from the government of Madagascar. Lemur has also concluded a 30-year power purchase agreement for an initial 25 MW from JIRAMA, the state-owned utility.
Lemur appointed Bara Consulting to undertake the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for its Imaloto coal mine in the first quarter of 2020. The DFS is currently in final draft form and ready for sign-off, subject to a site visit by the Competent Person.
Most Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) studies have been completed and submission to the Ministry of the Environment is expected to occur in the second half of 2021.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, Lemur appointed the Development Bank of Southern Africa as its Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) for the construction capital funding of up to US$155 million for the Imaloto Power Project.
Negotiations with the contractors for the EPC of the power station and transmission line are ongoing. However, the final sign-off of EPC agreements has been delayed until site visits by contractors take place.
Lemur remains in discussions with potential strategic partners and the government of Madagascar on the implementation of the project.
The PQ Iron & Titanium Project is a multi-commodity project that is located 45 km north-northwest of the town of Mokopane in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
The project has a JORC-compliant inferred and indicated mineral resource of 955 Mt, with an average grade of 33,7% Fe and significant TiO₂ (over 18% TiO₂ in-magnetite concentrates).
The project boasts some of the highest in-magnetite grades of titanium in the world and could be developed as a titanium and pig iron project in the future.
The PQ Phosphate Project resource lies immediately above the iron ore and titanium resource of the PQ Project.
The company reported in June 2014 a maiden phosphate resource statement for the PQ deposit of 442 Mt, with average phosphate grades of 3,6% P₂O₅.
Although the grades are low, the PQ phosphate deposit is in the immediate hanging wall of the PQ Phosphate Project and would be mined concurrently with the stripping of the latter.
The laboratory-scale test work is of particular interest. It has shown that 37% P₂O₅ concentrate grades are achievable from this deposit.
Both projects are based on the same licence area as the Mokopane Vanadium Project, where there is a mining right held by Pamish Investments No. 39 (Pty) Ltd. (Pamish). Therefore, all shareholding arrangements for the Mokopane Vanadium Project apply to the PQ Iron Ore, Titanium & Phosphate Projects.
Progress to date has been limited to understanding the economic parameters necessary for success and how these projects can be configured according to the company’s approach to developing projects.
No further work is planned on these projects while the company advances its vanadium platform.
AfriTin Mining Limited is an African mining company with a portfolio of near-production tin assets in Namibia and South Africa.
The company holds a 4,76% shareholding in AIM-listed AfriTin Mining Limited. It was demerged from Bushveld Minerals in November 2017.