Kumba Iron Ore Is A Company That Aims To Supply Quality Iron Ore Globally. Kumba Iron Ore is a mining company that operates primarily in South Africa, with mining operations in the Northern Cape province, as well as a head office in Centurion, Gauteng, and a port operation in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape. The company exists to make a real difference for everyone whose lives it touches. The company mines the materials that make modern life possible, in ways that are safer, smarter and more responsible. It is a leading supplier of high-quality iron ore to the global steel industry that is focused on creating and sharing value for a range of stakeholders.
Kumba Iron Ore has a 76.3% interest in Sishen Iron Ore Company Proprietary Limited (SIOC), an entity which it manages. SIOC, in turn, owns the operating assets of the company. The remaining 26.1% interest in SIOC is held by black economic empowerment (BEE) shareholders such as Exxaro Resources Limited (Exxaro), a leading BEE company listed on the JSE (19.98%); SIOC Community Development Trust (SIOC-CDT), a trust that funds projects in local communities (3.0%) and Envision, an employee share participation scheme (3.1%).
The bulk of its iron ore production comes from Sishen mine, with most of it being exported. The company mines by open cast methods and then it transports the ore to the beneficiation plant where it is crushed, screened and beneficiated. The products are beneficiated through dense media separation and jig technology. The jig plant at Sishen mine is the largest of its type in the world.
Its team members at Kolomela mine have done an excellent job of ramping up the mine and sustaining its production since it has been operational from 2011. Its Kolomela lump iron ore is in demand because of its excellent physical strength and high iron content. Kolomela has a life of mine of 14 years.
The port at Saldanha Bay is the only dedicated iron ore export facility in South Africa and it is larger than the country’s other four major ports combined. The ore quay at Saldanha has two berths where two vessels of 310,000 deadweight tonnage can simultaneously tie up at the iron ore jetty. The terminal operates 24/7 and has the capacity to offload 10,000 tonnes per hour onto a vessel. From the arrival to departure, an ore vessel carrying 170,000 tonnes will be in Saldanha Bay for just 24 hours.
