Nyanga third wash module approved, lifting capacity to 1.1 Mtpa from 2027

The board has approved a US$46 million third wash module at the Nyanga manganese operation in Gabon, lifting nameplate capacity from 0.9 Mtpa to 1.1 Mtpa with first production from the new module targeted for 2027.

Nyanga is the highest-grade manganese mine in the group, with a reserve grading 43.1% manganese and a life-of-mine strip ratio of 1.4:1. The expansion adds scrubbing, screening and washing capacity only; there is no change to the flowsheet, no chemical treatment and no tailings facility.

Commissioning is conditional on a matching increase in the operation’s slot allocation on the Trans-Gabon railway, which is under negotiation. The group has stated it will not mine tonnes it cannot rail.

The expansion increases the cleared footprint by approximately 11 hectares. Under the forest management plan agreed with the Gabonese national parks agency in 2023, 1.9 hectares are rehabilitated for every 2.0 hectares cleared, using seedlings of 34 native species grown in an on-site nursery from locally collected seed.

A separate scoping study into a manganese sinter plant at the port of Owendo continues. A decision on that project is not expected before 2028.