JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Junior miner Pan African has announced a 15,8% increase in the resource of its Phoenix project to 469 000 oz of 4E PGM (platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold).

The grade increased by 2,6% to 3,15 g/t, the company said in a statement.

"The increase in the total resources, assuming a 50% recovery, extends the life of the Phoenix project from 13 years to approximately 16 years, based on a production rate of 15 000 oz PGM 4Es per annum," commented CEO Jan Nelson.

On Tuesday, Pan African subsidiary Phoenix Mining, which owns the project, concluded an exclusivity agreement with London-listed International Ferro Metals, which sets out the terms under which it could build a chromite tailings retreatment plant (CTRP) on the ferrochrome miner's property.

The site position for the CTRP was agreed at the end of March, and the detailed engineering design of the CTRP is ahead of schedule, Pan African reported.

Construction would start during the first quarter of 2011, while first production was planned for September 2011.

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