The National Environmental Management Authority of Kenya has approved TIOMIN RESOURCES' environmental management plan for its Kwale project. As part of the approval, the company must present a comprehensive action plan covering mitigation measures for all operating parameters prior to the start of mining operations.
The Kwale mining lease has been approved, and Tiomin is ready to proceed with construction. The deposit consists of 200 million tonnes of titanium-bearing mineral sands occurring in three dunes. A test mining pit has been used to evaluate recovery by bucket wheel excavator, and a pilot plant erected to recover ilmenite, rutile and zircon concentrates using gravity spirals. The feasibility study indicates a capital cost of US$120 million. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2003 with production beginning about a year later.
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