Junior platinum explor-ation company Sable Platinum reports that it is in the initial drilling stages of an extended exploration plan on a number of sites along the western limb of the platinum-rich Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) in the North West.

The company is actively exploring four sites within its portfolio of five prospecting permit-approved locations.

The junior currently retains about 63 000 ha of land under licence from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), of which 25 000 ha is considered by Sable Platinum CEO James Allan to be highly prospective.

“The company has a huge attributable resource that we believe is well mineralised with platinum-group metals (PGMs), and which ranges in depth from the surface to 3 000 m. “We have a target of over 300-million ounces of resources on these projects, of which around 180-million ounces is attributable to Sable,” Allan notes.

Further, he asserts that the fact that the company holds among the last of the mineral exploration rights on the outcrop of the unexplored section of the western limb of the BIC makes Sable one of the largest potential PGM explorers in the country.

“We know that the reef is there – it is just a matter of intersecting its positions and evaluating the grade to determine if it is economically viable,” explains Sable technical manager Willie Visser.

The exploration programme to delineate resources was initiated in 2010, and will be followed by feasibility studies that the company anticipates will enable the conversion of these resources to reserves.

In addition to platinum resources, initial exploration on a number of sites indicates the possibility of future vanadium recovery.

Projects

In 2008, Sable Platinum established an exploration joint venture (JV) with Canadian miner Platinum Group Metals (PTM), which would see the South African company spending just over R40-million on the exploration of PTM’s Klipfontein site for a 51% stake in the property.

PTM holds a further 23%, with the JV’s black economic-empowerment partners holding the remaining 26%.

Visser says ground magnetic and ground gravity surveys on the Klipfontein project have revealed a boulder bed of outcrop that lies between the Merensky reef and the Upper Group 2 and is, therefore, optimistic that the site is potentially highly productive.

“The seventh borehole is currently being drilled on the Klipfontein project. The existence of an outcrop means that we do not have to drill as deeply as our competitors, which is a distinguishing feature of this site,” he says.

An additional site is currently under litigation as a result of opposition from local community company MKR Bakwena, which was awarded the original mineral rights for the area.

The company failed to start prospecting as it lacked technical expertise and financial backing and approached Sable to enter into a JV agreement that would enable drilling to begin.

Several years were then spent in negotiation with the community and the DMR, after which a Section 11 permit was issued and the mineral rights transferred to the JV.

“Drilling on the Syferfontein site has been delayed as a result of opposition from a rogue community group, which we believe does not represent the community as a whole,and has hijacked MKR Bakwena,” he explains.

The issue will be addressed in court later this month and Allan is confident that, given due process, Sable will resume drilling on the property by the end of the year.

Allan says Sable’s primary challenge in progressing its exploration programme has been the DMR’s lengthy prospecting rights applications process, which significantly delayed the start of drilling.

The company is also con-sidering future expansion plans, with a number of applications for additional mineral rights currently under consideration by the DMR.

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.