Buchanan Liberia Iron Ore Export Terminal

Client

NIRAS Ports and Maritime Sortemosevej 19 DK-3450 Allerod, Denmark

for

Sable Mining Africa Commerce House Wickhams Cay 1, PO Box 3140, Road Town Tortola, British Virgin Islands VG1110

Completion Date

January, 2014

Project Description

Sable Mining Africa (SMA) is undertaking the development of the Nimba Iron Ore Project in southeast Guinea. The iron ore will be railed via an existing 260km railroad to the Port of Buchanan, Liberia. This existing port, which is seen in the aerial and photo below, is designed to accommodate Panamax vessels. A new, dedicated export facility will be constructed at the port. As currently conceived, the system will receive iron ore by rail and load Panamax size vessels, which will transload the iron ore to Cape size vessels at an offshore transshipment area. Operations will begin at a 3.0 MTPA level and increase to 10.0 MTPA over some yet undefined time period. Energy Associates examined:

1. the design basis for the project;

2. a variety of design concepts for rail unloading, stacking/reclaiming, and shiploading that could be considered;

3. transloading options including different designs for self-unloading vessels;

4. prepared a rough order-of-magnitude capital cost estimate;

5. obtained preliminary technical and pricing information from candidate, major equipment suppliers, including ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies (who was currently furnishing equipment to ArcelorMittal’s adjacent iron ore port facility); and

6. obtained preliminary technical and pricing information from CSL for using an existing self-unloader from their fleet of ships and examined a new Articulated Tug/Barge self-unloader per a design submitted by Bay Engineering.