JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Midtier platinum-miner Aquarius Platinum has started the second phase of the re-establishment project at its Everest mine in South Africa, paving the way for the mine to resume operations by September next year.

The second-phase of the project includes the establishment of all underground and surface infrastructure required for the resumption of operations.

Aquarius, led by CEO Stuart Murray, is spending R259-million to prepare for the reopening of the mine, where operations were suspended in December 2008, following a subsidence incident.

The first-phase of the project, which started in June, is focusing on the excavation of the north and south boxcuts and the initial development of the new declines.

The platinum company reported that the first phase of the re-establishment project was ahead of schedule and that it would now implement the two phases in parallel, reducing the remaining project timeframe to nine months.

Milling operations would resume in the latter part of the first quarter of the next financial year, Aquarius, which also owns the Kroondal and Marikana mines in South Africa, reported.

The company said that its decision to resume operations at Everest is supported by the recent improvement platinum group metal (PGM) prices.

The PGM basket price for Aquarius' South African operations increased by more than 15% from the end of September, to levels above R9 000/4E oz.

"It is therefore now envisaged that the mine will restart immediately following the completion of the re-establishment project," it said in a statement.

The miner had previously said that the reopening of Everest was not a priority, saying that it planned to wait for market conditions to improve and the conclude the acquisition of Ridge Mining.

Aquarius bought the UK platinum company, which owns operations in South Africa, in an all-share deal worth $90-million this year.