(Ecofin Agency) - Help Africa to increase industrialization of its mining sector: that is the mission Frank Balestra and his company AB Minerals assign themselves. Based on an innovative and ecologic concept, the company wants to build first coltan processing unit in Africa. Indeed, so far, this ore is exported out of the continent as raw material. With Ecofin Agency, Frank Balestra discusses his company’s development projects in a sector which has for longtime been subject to bloody conflicts on African soil. 

Ecofin Agency: Please tell us about your "Made for Africa Eco-Friendly" coltan processing solution.

Frank Balestra: AB Minerals has developed a new environmentally friendly technology for smelting Conflict-Free coltan into high purity Tantalum and Niobium. The process has been designed to take into account the operational challenges of working in Africa, while ensuring that it would meet even the most rigorous environmental standards around the world. Unlike the traditional method for smelting coltan, our process does not require hydrofluoric acid, which has been replaced by a chemical compound that is safe and easy to handle. This is a low-cost, low power, minimal environmental impact solution that can be rapidly implemented in any region that has sufficient coltan/tantalite supplies available for smelting.

EA: In August 2016, you said that would build your first industrial-scale coltan processing plant, in Africa. Later, you’ve decided to build this smelter in Tanzania, why?

FB: Having lived in Rwanda for a number of years, I became very fond of the country and the people. That is where I learned the coltan business. We originally envisioned setting up our first smelting facility in Rwanda, but for strategic reasons, we have decided to install this first smelter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam is the port where a significant amount of the coltan produced in Africa is shipped for upgrading and value-addition at foreign smelters. Setting up in a well-established route provides good comfort for the mining community, as they can now deliver directly to our smelter rather than into the port, thus reducing payment times and eliminating any risk of theft that has existed at the port in recent years.

Being located in Dar es Salaam gives the Company many advantages; reduced transport risk and shipping costs, ease of import of chemicals and excellent support from Tanzanian government. There is a large, highly skilled workforce available in the country, and possibly in the future Tanzania will be able to supply some of the raw materials we require for processing. We also have a good partner in AMGC and we will have access to their excellent personnel and laboratory facilities.

EA: What stage are you at?

FB: The next critical event for us is to complete the land acquisition next to our Strategic Partner, African Minerals & Geoscience Centre in the Kunduchi region of Dar es Salaam. Once complete, we will submit our Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) which we are preparing now. This process was developed to be environmentally friendly, so we expect to receive all environmental approvals expeditiously. In addition, we have also done some preliminary engineering work on the land and have been busy in Tanzania on building our team that will assist with both construction and plant operations.

In consultation with our financing partner Destiny Mineral and Agricultural Consultants (DMAC), they have adjusted the terms of funding to in excess of US$50 million for the smelter and to ensure adequate working capital for purchasing the required coltan for the production volumes we are planning.

This is a high priority project for the Tanzanian government and has been endorsed by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, and the Minister of Minerals Angellah Kairuki. The Government of Tanzania are providing us with tremendous support and incentives to bring our smelting business to their country. We expect all necessary governmental approvals to be concluded swiftly in early 2018. Once all approvals are concluded, financing of the plant will be completed and shortly thereafter we will begin construction of the smelter.

EA: Talking about benefits and challenges, what are the advantages for those countries which will endorse your solution and what will your company gain?

FB: Currently Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is a major port for exporting coltan out of Africa. By installing an in-country smelter there is an opportunity to bring the value addition back to the continent and reduce the amount of minerals leaving Africa at the lowest end of the value chain. Our vision for this project is also in line with the African Union Agenda 2063, and the Global Vision 2030 for sustainable development goals (SDGs) for social and economic structural transformation, decent job creation and poverty eradication.

Our business will create many highly skilled employment opportunities for local Tanzanians, promote the commodity led industrialization and create significant value-addition to coltan mined in Africa prior to leaving the continent. Over time it will add significant tax revenues from this value-addition as Tanzania becomes a hub for coltan smelting for Africa. In working and teaching AMGC our solution, it will bring a technology transfer to Tanzania and Africa. This will also assist AMGC, a Pan-African Centre of Excellence, to contribute to the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV).

For AB Minerals, we feel strongly about bringing value-addition for coltan back to Africa. By implementing our strategy, we will not only achieve this, but also have the opportunity to build a very successful company as well.

EA: Do you have expansion plans for Africa?

FB: We would like a regional smelter of some significance in West Africa but have not yet established which country. A number of countries have indicated strong interest and we are actively pursuing these opportunities. We would like to see all coltan/tantalum bearing minerals on the continent smelted and upgraded to maximum value before leaving Africa, whether it be by us or competitors who come to establish smelting on the continent. Africa is changing, and new technological solutions are also being developed that can bring value-addition to the continent to develop its vast resources. The companies that create these technologies and are successful, will force competitors to follow if they want access to Africa’s minerals.

EA: A board of directors is vitally important in such an ambitious project. What are the profiles that stand out today in yours?

FB: We’ve recently added two new members to our Advisory Board, David Henderson and Mike Loch. Both are veterans of the coltan industry and bring a tremendous level of expertise to the project.

David Henderson, the recent President of the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) has a 35+ year career in the specialty metals industry. Mr. Henderson has extensive expertise in areas that include Tantalum raw materials mining, hydrometallurgical processing, and marketing of intermediates and mill products. He has wide-ranging experience selling into downstream Tantalum and Niobium product markets, including such applications as capacitors, alloy additive/superalloys, carbides, sputtering targets, other mill products, and chemicals.

Mike Loch, one of the most recognized conflict minerals experts in the world, has over 30 years of industry experience. He was named the Number One Conflict Minerals Influential Leader on the Top 100 Conflict Minerals Influential Leaders by Assent Global. He will assist ABM in completing the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), as well as work with us on our chain of custody protocol of conflict minerals from the mine to our smelter.

EA: The coltan has a sad story in Africa with the war in Central Africa. After this conflict, one of the challenges for countries producing this ore was to ensure the product’s traceability. Does your project take this factor into account? 

FB: Our focus is on developing a more transparent industry whereby origin of the ore we smelt can be scientifically determined. We expect that this will help to provide a more level playing field for miners and the countries who produce the ore.

Making traceability more reliable is critical to us. By being located on the African continent, we will be able to shorten the chain of custody from the mines that supply our smelter. By partnering with AMGC, we have access to their Analytical Fingerprinting Laboratory (“AFL”) which will help confirm the original source of the minerals. Using AFL will substantially enhance our supply chain integrity.

Being located in Tanzania, a country which is more neutral to the issues around the coltan industry, we will have reduced tensions around the politics surrounding this mineral and it will allow us to work towards improving the perception of coltan worldwide. Additional sourcing of ore will come from Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Uganda as well as from West Africa which can ship to Dar es Salaam via sea. Many of these countries are outside the defined Conflict region. 

EA: Do you think that Africa can compete with countries like Australia presented as the world’s biggest coltan producer?

FB: Africa has large and low cost supplies of coltan. Australian coltan comes from underground mines with higher cost to African ore. More recently, coltan supplies are being developed as a by-product of lithium mines in Australia. As coltan mining is not predominantly industrial scale in Africa, there remains significant, easily accessible supplies of tantalite bearing ores on the continent. Artisanal mining in the Africa coltan industry is currently a very cost-efficient system for extracting this mineral.

EA: How do you see the coltan market today and how can you improve pricing to your suppliers?

FB: The market for coltan has improved significantly over the last year after a number of years of depressed prices. Having increased coltan prices will provide a better working environment for the mining communities in Africa who produce the minerals. By being located only a couple days of transport from a majority of our suppliers, we reduce the risk of commodity price fluctuations, as opposed to deliveries via sea to foreign smelters taking extended periods of time. This allows for better real-time pricing and shorter payment turnaround times with less risk for all parties involved, from mine to smelter to our Customers who will buy our finished goods.

Louis-Nino Kansoun