JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - New Impala Platinum-linked start-up Kameni senses a "near-term" political settlement in troubled Zimbabwe where, it says, platinum investment is receiving red-carpet treatment.

Kameni CEO Stephen Gorven and CFO Michael Jones, both former Rothschild South Africa executives, report funding support for their platinum-group metals (PGM) and chrome Bougai project, close to Anglo Platinum's Unki in Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, and acceptance from Zimbabwe officials and politicians that change is inevitable.

On the company's current Zimbabwe ambitions, Gorven says: "We plan to build two mines, one a 250 000-t/m PGMs mine and the other a 100 000-t/m chrome mine.

"People have bought into the fact that Zimbabwe is the next area of PGMs development. South Africa is pretty much taken and therefore it makes sense to get in at ground level," Gorven tells Mining Weekly Online.

The total expected spend, which is "not a final number" and which will include Kameni's Kalkfontein PGMs project in South Africa, is estimated from R6,5-billion to R7-billion.

Currently, seed capital of between R300-million and R1-billion is being raised to fund the exploration, feasibility-study phases and initial construction phases.

On obstacles to raising funds for investment in Zimbabwe in this period of credit crunch, Gorven says: "We have been pleasantly surprised with the response."

Only equity funding is being sought.

Impala Platinum is a 20% shareholder in Kameni on a fully funded basis, and has a PGMs offtake agreement.

"This is a very attractive opportunity of good resources, multiple projects, high grade and low costs," Gorven reiterates.

"We'll not be investing a lot of money right now. The exploration doesn't actually cost a lot of money, and it's only at the time when you actually decide to build the mines, that you really have to think about whether it is a sensible thing or not.

"For us to go in and explore in this environment is fine and we are confident that Zimbabweans will, within the near term, come to some political settlement that will restore stability to the area," he says, defining "near-term" as between "a month and six months".

Kameni COO Clem Sweet estimates that total costs a ton will be less than R320/t for the opencast PGMs operation.

Gorven's sense of imminent political settlement in Zimbabwe, follows constructive engagement with the cholera-hit country's mining and investment organisations that are headed by local politicians who say that the current situation in Zimbabwe "cannot continue".

"We never ran into anybody who said things are going to carry on as they are. There is a great acceptance that the problems have to be resolved, and there is growing irritation with those at the top who are being obstructive," Gorven tells Mining Weekly Online.

The company has acquired its Zimbabwean mining claims at the low cost of "almost an administrative fee", rather than a purchase fee.

Moreover, Zimbabwe has a special policy regime for platinum in particular, says Jones.

"What Zimbabwe has recognised is that platinum is going to be one of the growth areas in terms of kick-starting the economy," Jones adds.

The platinum regime, he explains, allows investors to retain the proceeds from the sale of PGMs in offshore bank accounts in foreign-denominated currency, which offers more security than the arrangement for other precious metals and base metals.

"There is effectively a tripartite agreement that is entered into between an authorised dealer in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank and the offshore bank to manage that and to keep designated accounts for capital," Jones elucidates.

Special platinum mining licences govern tax concessions and exchange-control regulations.

Kameni's 3 500-ha Zimbabwe property, Bougai, is in the Great Dyke's Selukwe subchamber.

The PGMs grades at Bougai are 5 g/t, while chrome ore has a 45% chrome content and a chrome-to-iron ratio of 2,2:1.

The PGMs metal split is 44% platinum, 36% palladium, 15% rhodium and 5% gold.

Bougai's PGMs are contained in the main close-to-surface sulphide zone and the chrome seams below it also outcrop.

Kameni's plan is to have opencast PGMs and chrome mines to start with and then to move underground thereafter.

Kameni estimates that the resource contains between ten million and 20-million PGM ounces and that a 20-year life-of-mine is possible.

It has an investment licence from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority and approval from Zimbabwe's Department of Indigenisation and Empowerment.

"There are no further regulatory obstacles to us going ahead," says Gorven.

Some 12 km of exploration drilling is planned in the first half of 2009, involving 102 holes.

Five drill rigs will begin drilling in January, with a ramp-up to ten rigs.

More Zimbabwe prospecting rights are under consideration, and are expected to be acquired as claims rather than throiugh the acquisition of companies owning claims.

ZIM INFRASTRUCTURE

Gorven says that Bougai is close to a tarred-road network and to  rail infrastructure and add that there is a "plentiful" supply of water from the Gwenoro and Mapongokwe dams.

There are power transmission lines to neighbouring Unki, which are extendable to Bougai, and power can also be sourced from neighbouring Mozambique through the Zimbabwean network.

Gorven says that Kameni will be able to turn the assets to account fast because of the deposits outcropping or being close to the surface, and he foresees the benefit of early cash flow from chrome.

His view of the current moderated platinum price is that the heady levels of $2 000/oz were excessively high and says that timing is good from an expenditure point of view because input costs are falling.

"Drilling companies were hard to find a few months ago and now they are knocking down our door," Gorven says.

While the Kameni projects are profitable at current prices, he foresees the dollar platinum price rising from current levels.

Gorven says that Kameni's Zimbabwean and South African assets make up a combined resource from 60-million ounces to 90-million ounces.

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