JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum expects to produce 40 000 oz of platinum-group metals (PGMs) in the financial year, ending June, resulting from the ramp-up of its dump operations.

CEO Terry McConnachie on Monday said the ramp-up would continue into the next year, when the company expected to achieve the full capacity production volume of 60 000 oz/y.

“The planning of growth into primary platinum and nickel production is well on its way and we are optimistic that our modular plant method and ore to metal alloy approach will revolutionise the way platinum is processed,” he noted.

McConnachie reported that Sylvania would commence deposition of tails from the Lannex plant, situated in the Steelpoort region on the Eastern Limb Bushveld Complex, into the new Lannex tailings dam this week. The dam has now entered into the commissioning phase of the project and should be fully functional by mid-April.

The expected ounce production results for the third quarter, January to March, for the plant were currently estimated at 2 300 oz, a 60% improvement on the previous best performance of 1 425 oz in the third quarter of 2010.

The company has commenced a joint investment project whereby the Sylvania plant at Mooinooi would be capable of treating the lumpy chrome ore directly from underground. Sylvania planned on investing R8,1-million in the project, with production expected to climb by up to 220 oz/m from July 2011 with an expected payback period of seven months.

McConnachie said the project was an enhancement on the existing run-of-mine capability at Sylvania's Mooinooi plant and prepared the plant for future expansion.

Meanwhile, the Sylvania construction progress was at 80% while the host mine construction progress was currently on 67% with completion expected by June 2011.

The company also announced a Joint-Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant inferred resource, based on a report prepared by MSA Geoservices covering four identified higher-grade prospecting target areas in the Northern Limb resource.

Since November 2010, many aspects of the scoping study at Sylvania's new Jorc-compliant Volspruit deposit smelting and refining project  had progressed well beyond the scoping study stage, causing joint-venture partners Sylvania and Jubilee Platinum to improve the approach to the project beyond what was originally contemplated in the agreement, allowing aspects of the project to move directly to feasibility study level.

Sylvania reported that the roasting and smelting trials had been successfully concluded as part of this and had delivered positive results. The nickel-refining trials would be concluded over the coming two weeks, but early indications of the alloy produced from the smelting trails indicated good correlation with alloy used on previous refining trials, suggesting nickel and PGM recoveries exceeding 95%.

From the encouraging results achieved during these trials, the decision was taken to appoint consultants to the project to compile a technological and economic feasibility review, expected to be concluded in June 2011.

Preparatory work at the Volspruit mine and concentrator was also progressing and Sylvania expected to file a mining right application with the Department of Mineral Resources in July.
 

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