South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has executed the mining right for Africa-focused project developer Ivanhoe Mines’ multimetal Platreef project, near Mokopane, on the northern limb of the country’s mineral-rich Bushveld Complex.

The mining right, which would allow Ivanhoe to mine and process platinum-group metals, nickel, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, iron, vanadium and chrome at its Platreef discovery for 30 years, was formally notarised and activated last week.

As a result, Ivanhoe announced that it would take immediate steps to terminate a consultation process with its Platreef workforce, which the company launched earlier this month under the Labour Relations Act, as a prelude to possible retrenchments at the idled Platreef site.

Site work was suspended on May 26, pending execution of the mining right. The DMR had originally granted Ivanhoe its Platreef mining right on May 30, pending formal activation of the right subject to satisfying environmental, socioeconomic and black economic-empowerment (BEE) requirements.

Ivanhoe executive chairperson Robert Friedland said the execution of the mining right would enable the company to immediately resume preparations for continued construction at the Platreef site.

Paving the way for the DMR to execute the mining right, Ivanhoe had in September finalised a BEE deal, giving 20 local communities a 26% interest in the $1.7-billion project.

The right could be extended for further 30-year periods.

A preliminary economic assessment recommended a phased approach to the development of a large, mechanised, underground mine. Ivanhoe’s plan for the project entailed three phases of potential development for an underground mine and a concentrator processing facility. The first phase comprises a four-million-tonne-a-year mine and concentrator; the second phase, an eight-million-tonne-a-year mine and concentrator (base case); and Phase 3 contemplates a 12-million-tonne-a-year mine and concentrator.

The base-case scenario was targeting 785 000 oz/y of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, with significant amounts of copper and nickel by-product.

The implementation of Platreef’s development phases would depend on market demand, smelting and refining capacity and capital availability. Subject to further study, Ivanhoe could also consider expansion beyond the third phase.