Amex: $10M To Get Mining Up To Capacity
COMPANY DOWNSIZES TO 108 WORKERS AS THEY AWAIT THREE NEW GENERATORS WHICH ARRIVE AT THE END OF THE MONTH
Amex Resources Ltd is waiting for three new generators as part of its rectification exercise.
Millions of dollars are being invested to fix technical issues which have limited production.
Amex is Fiji’s only iron sand exporter.
Amex, through MBA Delta, mines at the Ba River mouth, and barges the extracted ore to Lautoka.
There it treats extracted ore at its Lautoka facility.
From there, ships cart the exported product to China.
The multi-million dollar Lautokabased iron sand facility, has set aside $10 million to fix the technical issues.
General manager Alivereti Tuidravuni made the remarks.
The Australian-based company downsized operations to one shift only, he said.
It is realigning its business model, Mr Tuidravuni said.
“The rectification of technical issues is progressing well,” he said.
But even the downsize has not allowed the company to save on cost, he said.
It was an inevitable move to sustain the company’s mining operations, he said.
Primary technical challenges such as poor yield tonnage, low concentrator, and plant availability,
must be addressed as a priority, he said.
Amex will restructure its internal operations where certain departments and business sections will merge, Mr Tuidravuni said.
In the meantime, three new 850 kilowatts Cummins generators valued at $1.2 million have been procured to be shipped to Fiji at the end of the month, he said.
The set back
The company laid off 107 workers in February last year because of technical issues at the new floating processing plant at Amex’s Ba mining site, he said.
“A few former staff members who were laid off, have since been reinstated, according to operations requirements, as the rectification of the technical challenges progresses,” Mr Tuidravuni said.
He said 91 workers were retained, 107 made redundant, with the current number of employees standing at 108.
Technical challenges reduced the company’s monthly production rate by 21 per cent, he said.
The technical setback cost the company monthly losses of $700,000.
The losses date back to the commencement of production in May 2019, he said.
The under-performance of the three floating processing plants’ main 850 kilowatts power generators was the reason behind the technical challenges, he said.
The rectification of technical issues is progressing well. ” Alivereti Tuidravuni General manager, Amex Resources Ltd
Magnets
The situation was also compounded by the under-performance of rougher magnets, which separate waste from product, that is iron sand, Mr Tuidravuni said.
The magnets are supposed to separate the very magnetic iron grains in the sands from other clay and earthy material in the sea shore.
The iron grains are stockpiled, while the remaining material is safely put back into the sea.
Other investment
The technical concerns added pressure to investments such as the $130 million that was pumped in to the port facility in Lautoka, and the additional $70 million on mining equipment, he said.
Such technical complications serve to negatively impact the return on investment (ROI) for shareholders in Amex Resources.
Amex was established along Lautoka’s
waterfront, adjacent to the Queens Wharf, where initial investment was reported to be around $335 million.
Amex has a 21-year mining license which, extension permitted, can span a total of 45 years.
The company was first granted a mining licence in 2009.
Its current licence expires on October 1, 2022.
Iron sand is used for the production of steel.
It is blended with high grade iron ore to provide a cost effective raw material feed into the steel making process, alongside cooking coal and ferromanganese, to give strength to steel.
Fiji was an exporter of high grade iron ore, Haematite in the 1950s.