PLATREEF PROJECT
Ivanplats starts concentrator construction and
TSX-listed mining company Ivanhoe Mines’ South African subsidiary, Ivanplats, is underway with the next major step required to bring the first phase of its tier-one Platreef palladium, rhodium, nickel, platinum, copper and gold project in South Africa into commercial production. The construction of the Phase 1 concentrator plant has started and is the last crucial development step in Platreef’s journey from discovery to first production. By Chantelle Kotze .
I vanhoe Mines is at the vanguard of the global shift towards net-zero carbon emissions with a diverse portfolio of the critical raw materials required for the global transition from fossil-fuelled transporta- tion and energy generation to electric vehicles and renewable power. Within its portfolio of green metals, Ivanhoe Mines has copper – an irreplaceable element for advanced energy technology including electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels – and platinum group met- als – which have an integral role to play in several clean technologies. Also in its portfolio is platinum, palladium, and rhodium – critical metals used in vehicle pollution-control devices, while platinum is also vital for zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell tech- nology. The portfolio further contains nickel – a key metal needed for electric vehicle batteries, and zinc – used in solar panels and wind turbines. Armed with a solid and proven foundation built on bringing the first two phases of the world-class Kamoa Copper Mining Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into production, Ivanhoe is confidently moving ahead with the development of its second world-class asset – Platreef, and work is in progress to restart zinc mining operations at its
historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germa- nium-silver mine, also in the DRC. On track to become one of the world’s largest primary PGM producers Located on the Northern Limb of the renowned, platinum-rich Bushveld Complex in the Limpopo Province, and adjacent to Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine, the Platreef project hosts an underground deposit of thick, platinum-group met- als, nickel, copper and gold. Since 2007, Ivanplats has focused its exploration and development activities on defining and advanc- ing its original discovery at Platreef, now known as the Flatreef deposit. What makes the Flatreef ore- body unique is its high-grade mineralisation, its palladium-to-platinum ratio of approximately 1:1 and its amenability to bulk-scale, highly mechanised, underground mining methods. To date, Shaft 1 – which will provide the initial access point to the Flatreef deposit, and which will serve as Platreef’s initial production shaft – has been successfully established. Three development sta- tions have been completed on the 750-, 850-, and 950-metre levels and in May 2022, Ivanplats
Ivanhoe Mines president, Marna Cloete.
Left: Platreef’s Shaft 1 headframe and surface infrastructure.
Below: Civil construction activities and preparations for Shaft 2 sinking are well underway.
30 MODERN MINING January 2023
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