The Elandsfontein phosphate deposit is situated in the south western coastal region of South Africa. This area is underlain by the Miocene and Paleocene Sandveld Group comprising of the Elandsfontyn, Varswater, Velddrif, Langebaan, Springfontein Hill and Witzand Formations. This Group is dated between the Miocene (23 Ma to 5.3 Ma) and the Pliocene (5.3 Ma to 2.6 Ma). The Varswater Formation hosts the Elandsfontein phosphate deposit. The Sandveld Group unconformably overlies the Neoproterozoic Malmesbury Group and plutons of the Cape Granite Suite.

The Varswater Formation is formed by estuary and marine sediments, which locally overlie the Elandsfontyn Formation and consists of poorly sorted angular sands and gravels grading upwards into carbonaceous clays and peaty material, known as the Langeenheid Clay Member.

Deposit Type
The Elandsfontein phosphate deposit belongs to the sedimentary phosphate deposit type known as phosphorites. These deposits have been found on most continents and it is estimated that the world inventory of this style of deposit exceeds 200 000 Mt. They range in age from the Precambrian to recent, but the commercially exploited deposits are mainly of Phanerozoic age. In South Africa, and specifically in the Western Cape Province both authogenic and diagenetically modified phosphorite deposits have been identified by Birch (1990) in the Langebaan area. In the Saldanha embayment deposits of calcium phosphate formed during the Miocene and Pliocene periods. The Elandsfontein deposit is a diagenetically modified phosphorite deposit.

Mineralisation
The phosphate mineralization at Elandsfontein is in the form of the calcium phosphate mineral apatite, that presents itself as one of three types that may be described from top to bottom of the mineralised ore horizon as:
- Rounded reworked orange coloured phosphate grains in the terrace ores;
- A mixture of the orange grains in addition to the crystalline dark green apatite in the unconsolidated F and G Units; and
- As a phosphate matrix between mainly quartz grains in cemented phosphorite lenses in the F Unit, but mainly in the G Unit.

The host of the apatite mineralization consists mainly of poorly sorted, angular quartz sands and gravels, alternating with fine sands and silts.

The Elandsfontein Mineral Resource extends over 3.6 km in NE-SW direction and 1.8 km in a NWSE direction. The combined FG package varies in thickness from 3 m to 30 m, having an average thickness of 17 m.

The Elandsfontein Phosphate Project is planned to be mined by conventional open pit mining methods, though no production drilling and blasting is necessary due to the sandy characteristics (with only low percentage of thin hard rock lenses) of the deposit. Specifically, a roll over mining method has been employed. The mining will take place in a number of discrete phases, which will reduce the overall mining foot print:
- topsoil is removed and stockpiled;
- soft overburden is stripped and hauled to the softs stockpile for the first two years only;
- phosphate ore is mined, hauled to the ROM tip, and conveyed to the plant;
- the mined-out strips are then immediately backfilled (after year 2) with the soft overburden and tailings sands from the plant; and
- topsoil is returned to the backfilled strips to complete the rehabilitation process.

The mining box cut development includes a ramp to the top of ore. Mining will proceed on several benches concurrently. The mining fleet, consisting of 50 tonne articulated dump trucks, will be loaded by hydraulic excavators in a backhoe configuration. The dump trucks will transport the material to the appropriate destination and return to the excavator in a cyclic manner.

The mining will take place sequentially from the north east to the south west of the mining licence area in cuts with a maximum mining width at the bottom of the cut not exceeding 50 m. This maximum width is to ensure the clay layer below the mineralised zones does not fail under the artesian water pressure from below. The mining method has proven, during the 2017commissioning phase, that it is efficient in removing overburden and Mineral Resource material to supply the plant with ore.

RoM material is crushed using a mineral sizer, before being conveyed to the processing facility.

Processing plant:
-Plant designed to upgrade to >31% P2O5 (68% BPL) with capacity of >1.0Mtpa;

-Continuous pilot scale test work has shown improved flotation recoveries, even at low flotation feed grades;

-Robust circuit caters for all ore types;

-Based on Florida’s successful Crago process;

-Plant originally designed as two stages of reverse flotation;

-Plant now modified to cater for a direct float, followed by reverse flotation.

Upgrades include:

-Fine screening around mill circuit to improve efficiency;

-Attritioning ahead of flotation;

-New flotation conditioning;

-New coarse flotation stage;

-Additional reagent storage areas;

-New tailings thickener.

Elandsfontein site activities are currently split between finalising the piping installation and the electrical, control and instrumentation installation and early commissioning activitie ........