JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – With the restructure plan at Atlatsa’s Bokoni mine having reached completion, resulting in the older UM2 and vertical Merensky shaft operations being placed on care and maintenance, Bokoni will now operate only two underground shafts, both of which are in ramp-up phases toward steady state.

The TSX- and JSE-listed company on Friday said the Middelpunt Hill UG2 shaft was currently operating at 80% of its targeted steady state volumes of 60 000 t/m and is estimated to reach steady state by the second quarter of 2018.

Further, the Brakfontein Merensky shaft was currently operating at 50% of its targeted steady state volumes of 90 000 t/m and it is estimated to achieve steady state by the second quarter of 2019.

“Management is currently implementing a comprehensive development plan to ensure sufficient stoping face length is made available to achieve the planned production ramp-up.

“This is being achieved by improving waste handling infrastructure and upgrading trackless mining equipment required for development. Management is also in the process of appointing a contract miner to develop critical ends to ensure that development targets are met,” the company said in a statement.

The mine has well-established infrastructure and ore is processed on site at the concentrator plant with an installed design capacity of 160 000 t/m.

The initial phase of the new operational plan at Bokoni is targeting a steady state operation of 145 000 t/m throughput being achieved by 2019, with volumes being processed through the existing concentrator plant.

Meanwhile, the company noted that discussions were continuing between Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Atlatsa and relevant stakeholders surrounding an appropriate exit for Amplats from the Bokoni joint venture.

These discussions recognise that execution of the new operational plan is critical to ensure the future sustainability of the Bokoni operations, having regard to any potential future corporate activity surrounding Bokoni going forward.

PRODUCTION RESULTS
As a result of two shafts being placed on care and maintenance during 2016, the tonnes milled at Bokoni decreased by 21.4% to 1.31-million tonnes and the platinum group metals (PGMs) ounces produced decreased to 159 241, compared to 190 740 oz produced during 2015’s financial year.

Primary development decreased by 26.9% year-on-year to 5 686 m, owing to the impact of the restructuring. Implementation of the restructure plan resulted in a backlog in development during 2016 relative to the intended mine development plan. This backlog is being addressed as part of the new operational plan being implemented in 2017.

Recoveries at the concentrator plant increased by 0.9% to 89.5% and 1% to 86.7% for the Merensky and UG2 concentrate, respectively, as a result of an increase in throughput and processing of lower grade ore from the opencast operation.

Revenue decreased by 20.9% year-on-year to $162.7-million as a result of a decrease of 16.5% in PGM ounces produced and a 6.4% decrease in the average dollar platinum price per ounce from $1 054 in 2015 to $987 in 2016, partially offset by a 5.4% increase in the rand PGM basket price.