JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Bauba Platinum subsidiary Bauba A Hlabirwa Mining Investments has been awarded a mining permit for the mining of chrome ore on the farm Moeijelik 412KS and, accordingly, the last condition precedent for its acquisition of a 60% stake in the prospecting rights on the farms of Moeijelik 412KS and Waterkop 113KT, in Limpopo, has been fulfilled.

Bauba said the mining permit allowed for the mining of about 240 000 metric tonnes of run-of-mine chrome ore to be mined at a planned 20 000 metric tonnes a month at full production.

Furthermore, the receipt of the mining permit afforded Bauba A Hlabirwa the opportunity to apply for a mining licence, with the application to be submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources by no later than the first week of December 2014.

Following the receipt of the mining permit, Bauba would commission Zizwe Opencast Mining to start site establishment and the extraction of chrome ore.

The first run-of-mine chrome ore was expected to be collected by ASA, with which Bauba A Hlabirwa entered into a chrome-ore supply agreement in March, towards the third week of January 2015.

Bauba added that it was also currently investigating various underground mining options, with a focus on identifying a suitable turnkey underground mining contractor with which it could engage on the same principle basis as had been established with Zizwe.

“This will allow for minimum capital outlay and early additional net positive cash flow from the underground operations,” Bauba said, noting that as a result of the mining permit it had been repositioned from pure exploration to a cash-generating chrome producer and exploration company.

“This positively distinguishes Bauba from many of its peers in that its current exploration programme will become substantially self-funded, thereby, avoiding early dilution of shareholder value,” Bauba CEO Syd Caddy commented.