Skorpion Zinc
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Skorpion Zinc Location in Namibia | |
| Location | Rosh Pinah |
| Region | Karas |
| Country | Namibia |
| Coordinates | 27°48′49″S 016°36′16″E / 27.81361°S 16.60444°ECoordinates: 27°48′49″S 016°36′16″E / 27.81361°S 16.60444°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Zinc |
| Owner | |
| Company | Vedanta Resources |
Skorpion Zinc is the 8th largest Zinc mine in the world, producing Special High Grade (SHG) Zinc. Since November 2010 it is owned and operated by Vedanta Resources.
Skorpion is located in southwest Namibia, near the town of Rosh Pinah.
Skorpion is a unique mine in several ways. Firstly, it is a supergene zinc ore body composed of alluvial accumulations of zinc carbonate and silicate minerals of detrital nature deposited within a palaeochannel. There are no other currently commercially viable deposits of this type.
It is also one of the few mines in the world which mines "zinc oxides", which actually is a mixture of non sulphidic zinc minerals such as smithsonite, hydrozincite, tarbuttite and willemite.
Finally, it is the only zinc processing facility to use solvent extraction-electrowinning metallurgy to process and refine its zinc products (others using conventional smelting and roasting).
The Skorpion SX-EW plant creates Special High Grade, ultra-pure zinc cathode as a primary product, which is so low in impurities that it commands a price premium.
Sources
References
- Gregor Borg, Katrin Kärner, Mike Buxton, Richard Armstrong, Schalk W. van der Merwe (2003). "Geology of the Skorpion Supergene Zinc Deposit, Southern Namibia". Economic Geology. 98 (4): 749–771. doi:10.2113/98.4.749.