Highlights of the Platreef projects
THE construction of the first mining shaft at the Platreef Project highlights a year of significant progress at Ivanhoe's three key development projects in southern Africa," stated Jeremy Michaels, media representative at Ivanhoe mines.
MOKOPANE – “THE construction of the first mining shaft at the Platreef Project highlights a year of significant progress at Ivanhoe’s three key development projects in southern Africa,” stated Jeremy Michaels, media representative at Ivanhoe mines, in a media statement on Friday.
Some of the numerous highlights:
• South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources, (DMR) provided the final approval of the mining right for the development of Ivanhoe Mine’s Platreef Project on November 4, paving the way for Ivanhoe to build a new R13,5 billion platinum, palladium, rhodium, gold, nickel and copper underground mine just outside Mokopane. The mining right is granted for an initial period of 30 years and may be renewed for an unlimited number of consecutive periods each of up to 30 years.
• A pre-feasibility study for Platreef as completed by Ivanhoe in January 2015 which covered the first phase of development of a large mechanised underground mine with an initial four-million-tonnes-per-year concentration and associated infrastructure to support initial concentrate production by 2019.
• The study estimated a planned initial average annual production rate of 433,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, plus 19 million pounds of nickel and 12 million pounds of copper per year.
• Ivanhoe mines plans to develop the Platreef underground mine in three phases with the end result being that Platreef would be among the largest platinum-gold metal mines in the world.The first phase an initial annual rate of four million tons per year to establish an operating platform to support future expansions; followed by a doubling of production to eight million tons per year and then a third expansion phase to a steady-state 12 million tons per year.
• Construction work on a large concrete surface collar for the 7,25 m to diameter Shaft 1 at Platreef is advancing well and the refurbished stage and hoist winding equipment will be installed once the foundations are complete.
• The contract for design and engineering of Shaft 2, the 10-metre-diameter main production shaft that will be capable of hoisting six million tons a year, has been awarded by Ivanhoe to the South African based Murray & Roberts Cementation in June 2014. This will enable Ivanhoe to start Shaft 2 development works in 2015, subject to necessary approvals and funding.
Ivanhoe announced in February that its South African subsidiary, Ivanplats, was the top-ranked platinum-sector mining company in compliance with the country’s black empowerment laws. Ivanplats achieved Level 3 status in its first verification assessment on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, (BBBEE) scorecard.
• A total of 70% of the 700 permanent and contract workers currently employed by the company are from the local area. A 26% interest is held by Ivanplats B-BBEE partners which include communities, employees and entrepreneurs.
• The Platreef project achieved a significant operational safety milestone in March, when it recorded the completion of 3,8 million working hours without incurring a lost-time injury.
Highlights with regard to the community benefits from the Platreef project:
• Following the activation of the mining right in November 2014, Ivanhoe began investing in its Social and Labour plan, (SLP) to which the company has pledged a total of R160 million during the next five years.
• The approved plan includes R67,2 million for the development of job skills among local residents, R87,7 million for local economic development projects and R26 million to build a community skills development training facility in the Mokopane area, the facility will be accredited by the Mining Qualifications Auithority, (MQA).
• In addition to its SLP and BBBEE commitments, Ivanhoe has begun an R11 million water harvesting and sanitation project in its host communities.
• Ivanhoe has initiated a R24 million partnership between South Africa’s university of Limpopo and Laurentian Universtity in Candada to develop and equip Limpopo’s geology department to improve its curriculum choices for students to conduct research on the Platreef project and offer post-graduate studies in geology. Ivanhoe will allocate approximately and; R12 million to the university of Limpopo and R12 million to Laurentian University over the next five years, and has committed to renewing the partnership for a further five-year period.
