JSE-listed Wesizwe Platinum reached another milestone at its flagship Bakubung platinum mine project, in the North West, in December last year, despite facing labour tensions in the platinum belt during 2014.

Continual progress was made in sinking the main and ventilation shafts at the project, with the intersection of the Merensky reef a mere 11 m away from the current level of the main shaft.

The intersection of the secondary upper group two reef was expected to be reached soon.

Meanwhile, the ventilation shaft, which will reach its final depth of 880 m in September 2016, is almost five months ahead of schedule.

The implementation of an adopted optimisation plan early in 2014 ensured that the mine, boasting a 30-year life-of-mine, will undergo its main commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2018, before being ramped up to full production in 2020.

A feasibility study has also started on the first phase of the housing project, which will consider off-balance-sheet funding options.

Bakubung will also shortly start construction of the access roads for the mine.

During 2015, Bakubung will start its waste development programme and Phase 2 of the power supply project, commission the bulk-water supply and embark on key shaft bank installations.

The Bakubung platinum mine project, formerly known as the Frischgewaagd-Ledig project, is located in the western limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, north of Rustenburg.

The project entails the construction of a platinum-group metals mine on Wesizwe’s core assets.

The project will consist of an underground mine and takes into account the establishment of all surface infrastructure, servitudes for bulk power and water supply, the sinking and equipping of ventilation and main shafts, the associated underground infrastructure, the ancillary excavations and the access development to establish a footprint for full production.

The mine is specifically designed for optimum flexibility in terms of mining method – conventional, mechanised or hybrid – and allows for fast production build-up to enhance the project’s shareholder value.

An optimisation study has increased mine capacity by 8.7% to 255 000 t/m of run-of-mine ore at full capacity.

According to the optimisation study, the control budget estimate of nominal capital expenditure is also expected to decrease from R12.03-billion to R10.69-billion.