Steady progress has been made on all mining and infrastructure construction-related activities at platinum miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum’s (RBPlat’s) Styldrift I expansion project, in the North West.

Steady-state production is expected in the first quarter of 2019, and will boost RBPlat’s production by 230 000 t/m.

The project’s infrastructure development as of April this year is 54% complete, while concentrator infrastructure-related construction activities, which includes the upgrade of the current Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM) concentrator and construction of an overland conveyor belt from Styldrift to BRPM, continues to progress according to plan.

The BRPM Phase III project, which entails the extension of the North shaft decline access infrastructure and associated reef infrastructure from Level 10 to the mine boundary, Level 15, also continues to progress well.

The overall project, as of April this year, was 76% complete, which was 7% ahead of schedule. Project expenditure for the quarter amounted to R40.7-million, bringing the total project expenditure, to date, to R830.14-million.

The project has experienced minimal disruption to shaft equipping activities as a result of terminating the contract in March with mining shafts developer Shaft Sinkers, the principal sinking and development contractor on the project.

In October 2014, the company reported that its expansion project was delayed by six months, owing to activities having been constrained by the service shaft hoisting capacity.

Ramp-up at the mine is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016. The capital cost of the project remains at R11.01-billion.

Capital expenditure for the quarter ended March 31 amounted to R434.98-million, bringing total expenditure and total commit- ments on the project to R4.25-billion and R5.07-billion respectively.

The total expenditure for the project remains forecast at R2.41-billion, including the concentrator upgrade. RBPlat has an obligation to fund 67% of the total project.