As of February this year, development work on the Platreef project, owned by Ivanhoe Mines, focused on the Shaft No 1 sinking programme, which is expected to be covered by existing dedicated working capital.

The project is situated in Limpopo and is funded by an investment of $280-million made by the Japanese consortium that holds a 10% interest in the project, in 2011.

Ivanhoe Mines have retained Australia-based Whittle Consulting to conduct an optimisation study, based on the Platreef independent prefeasibility study (PFS). The work is progressing and recommendations from the study are intended to provide guidance for the feasibility study and subsequent expansion phases.

The PFS proposes the development of the mine in three phases. According to the previously released preliminary economic assessment, Phase 1, which will establish an operating platform to support the start of production at a nominal plant capacity of four-million tonnes a year, is expected by 2020.

Phase 2, which includes a ramp-up to a plant capacity of eight-million tonnes a year, is expected by 2024.

Phase 3, to a steady-state plant capacity of 12-million tonnes a year, is expected by 2028, making it one of the largest platinum group metals mines in the world.

As at December 31, 2014, $109-million remained available for development work at Platreef. The cumulative investment by Ivanhoe on the Platreef project as of February totals about $241-million.

The Platreef project is a Tier 1 discovery, which contains the Flatreef deposit, located on the northern limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex, the world’s premier platinum- producing region. Ivanhoe has declared an initial probable mineral reserve of 15.5-million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold. The mineral reserve is expected to support a 31-year mine life at a steady-state production rate of four-million tonnes a year.

Mining in the current Platreef mine plan occurs at depths ranging from about 700 m to 1 200 m below surface. Access to the mine will be through four vertical shafts.

Shaft No 2 will have the main personnel, material and ore-handling system, while shafts No 1, 3 and 4 are designated ventilation shafts. Shaft No 1 is under development and will be used for initial access, bulk-sample collection and early underground development.

Mining will be performed using highly productive mechanised methods, including long-hole stoping and drift-and-fill mining. The ore will be hauled from the stopes to the bottom of Shaft No 2, where it will be crushed and hoisted to surface.

The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $972-million, and an after-tax internal rate of return of 13%, with a project payback of seven years.