OPERATION
Minas de Alquife operates according to the latest standards and with a high degree of flexibility through cooperation with reliable partners for specialized activities. By outsourcing certain processes to the most competitive and sustainable suppliers MdA gains a high degree of flexibility which allows us to focus on product and process optimization.
Despite the difficult conditions caused by the corona pandemic, the start of mining in September 2020 had been started successfully.
The first ore export via the ports of Almeria, Motril and Malaga is planned for the first quarter of 2021.
Sep 2020
re-start mining
Q1/2021
1st export via ports
Outsourcing
for high flexibility
RESOURCES
As determined by Golder & Associates in accordance with Canadian NI 43-101, the mine was estimated to contain 110Mt of proved reserves.
The ore contains a hematite-goethite mix.
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Based on a production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tons per year, the operating life of the MdA mine will be expected by approximately 30 years to 2050.
Agreements with mining companies, transport and logistics companies as well as the transshipment centers are agreed long-term. Ship loading is guaranteed dust-free with the latest loading technology.
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Minas de Alquife has analyzed all the drilling data from 861 bore holes and more than 160,000 meters of existing bore holes, which have allowed the evaluation of more than 135 million tons of iron ore resources in the Alquife area alone. Based on 11 surveys, it is estimated that approximately another 40 million tons of additional resources can be found in the La Calahorra area. In addition, significant additional exploration is expected as only a small part of the mineral rights acreage has been accounted for in resource modeling so far.
110Mt
proved reserves
4.5 Mt
resources
40 Mt
potential resources
MINING & PROCESSING
The iron ore is extracted discontinuously in the opencast mine using single-vessel excavators, wheel loaders and flat excavators. The transport for solid materials ends at the primary crusher which crushes the material obtained to a grain size that can be used for the following processes.
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After mining, the iron ore is crushed in several steps, sorted and finally shipped finely grained as iron ore fines.
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It´s projected to invest in a beneficiation plant to increase the iron ore content to world class.
Mining
Crushing
Enrichment
TRANSPORT
With relatively short distances to the shipping ports and an excellent road network, Minas de Alquife provides clear competitive advantages in terms of both cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
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The main railway line that leads to the port of Almería passes 12 km from the mining area. The mine has a private line connecting directly to the main railway line. The disused railway line will be reactivated in the coming years, optimizing the transport process to the harbours.
The southern Spanish harbours of Almeria (100 km), Malaga (200 km) and Motril (155 km) are the starting point for shipping the iron ore from the MdA within Europe and worldwide.
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Ships of sizes HandyMax (30 t) and Panamax (55 t) can be loaded in the southern Spanish ports of Almeria, Malaga and Motril.
Road
3 km from main road
3 Ports
100 - 200 km
Railway
reactivated soon
GOALS & VISION
​Our goal is to reduce the carbon footprint in the entire steel production process as much as possible and to make our contribution to Green Steel. MdA´s part in this are short transport distances to the steel manufacturers, which means less pollutants and less fine dust.
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For the future, Minas de Alquife is working on an iron ore enrichment via beneficiation plant.
Further, with increasing production a connection to the rail network is planned for the next 3 years. A further step to Green Steel.
Green steel
reduce Carbon footprint
Fe Enrichment
via benefication plant
Eco-friendly
transport
