Name of the Project
Impala 20 Shaft project.
Location
North West, South Africa.
Project Owner/s
Impala Platinum.
Project Description
The project involves sinking a cluster of four declines to service ten working levels.
Two vertical shafts (one down-cast rock and men-and-materials shaft, and one up cast ventilation shaft) intersect the declines about midway. The two spines of the decline package is situated between the Merensky and upper group two (UG2) reef planes, while the bottom two spines are situated below the UG2 reef plane. Conventional track-bound transport in the footwall-strike drives will be used to supply materials to and transfer ore from the workings to ore passes at each decline station area. A conveyor system transports the rock to the main shaft for hoisting to the surface.
There are three stations on the main shaft. A decline system, attached to the vertical shaft below the Merensky reef plane, will facilitate the transportation of material and personnel. The main shaft is equipped with rock, worker and service conveyances to a depth of 1 050 m. One station at 897 m below the surface will be used to access the upper two declines. One will house a chairlift and the other a twin-track electric monorail transport system. The lower two declines will be accessed from the main shaft station at 937 m below the surface. One of these will be an airway decline and the other will be equipped with a conveyor belt to transfer ore from the declines to the main shaft.
The main shaft measures 8.5 m in diameter and is 1 051 m deep, allowing for the hoisting of about 240 000 t/m of ore and waste. The ventilation shaft, which is 6.5 m in diameter and 1 020 m deep, is designed to move about 650 kg/s of refrigerated air through the workings
Design production of 6E (platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium and gold) at steady state is estimated at 229 000 oz/y and 6E production at 68 000 oz.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Capital Expenditure
R7.93-billion. An estimated R7.89 has been spent on the project to date.
Planned Start/End Date
The project was completed on schedule and within budget in March 2019. Steady-state production is expected in September 2022.
Latest Developments
The key focus at the project remains on increasing mineable face length to allow for a ramp-up in stoping teams and production. A 27% increase in immediately mineable scope to 3 051 m was achieved in the six months ended December 31, 2020, with stable 6E concentrate production of 68 000 oz, despite a mechanical shaft incident, which impacted on operational activity in October 2020.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Major consultants and companies involved at No 20 Shaft: TWP Consulting (engineering, procurement and construction management), Murray & Roberts Cementation (initially shaft sinking and currently construction), Bluhm Burton Engineering (refrigeration plant), Wade Walker (electrical Phase 3 - electrical installation of compressor house, ventilation fans substation and surface conveyor), ABB (electrical equipment), DSE Structural Engineers & Contractors, Grinaker-LTA, SMT Scharf (Africa), Sareco, Triple M Mining, Platchro and Steel Services.
Contact Details for Project Information
Implats, tel +27 11 731 9000, fax +27 11 731 9254 or email investor@implats.co.za.