Kumba Iron Ore Limited says in an announcement that its subsidiary Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) has been granted the residual 21.4% undivided share of the mining right for the Sishen mine, Kallanish notes.

As a result of the grant of the residual 21.4% undivided share, SIOC is now the sole and exclusive holder of the right to mine iron ore and quartzite at the Sishen mine. This residual mining right will be incorporated into the 78.6% Sishen mining right that SIOC successfully converted in 2009, the miner says.

The grant by South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources is subject to various conditions, Kumba says. The conditions, where applicable, will ultimately form part of the conditions to the Sishen mining right.

These include the requirement for the continuation of the existing ‘Export Parity Price’-based supply agreement between SIOC and ArcelorMittal SA Limited in its role as a strategic South African steel producer. The grant also requires SIOC’s continued support of skills development, research and development and initiatives to enable preferential procurement, Kumba adds.