Photo by: Royal Bafokeng Rasimone
Name of the Project
Styldrift I expansion project.
Location
The Styldrift project area is located about 5.5 km from the existing Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM), in South Africa’s North West province.
Project Owner/s
Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat).
Project Description
The project will exploit one of the last major shallow Merensky mining blocks on the Western Bushveld.
Styldrift I will deliver an underground trackless operation, which is accessed through a twin vertical shaft system consisting of sinking the main shaft to 753 m and the services shaft to 723 m.
The configuration of the main shaft has been equipped and commissioned, and allows for a single-deck personnel-and-material cage compartment that can transport 180 people; a cage counterweight compartment; two Merensky reef skip compartments, each designed to accommodate a 22 t skip; and two future skip compartments, each capable of accommodating a 13 t skip.
The services shaft has been equipped and commissioned, and allows for a personnel-and-equipment cage and counterweight compartment that can transport 22 people.
At steady state, Styldrift will produce 320 000 oz/y of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, or 4E.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at about R12.4-billion.
Total project capital expenditure (capex) for the year ended December 31, 2020, amounted to R716-million, bringing the total capital expenditure for the project to date to R13.5-billion.
Planned Start /End Date
Styldrift reached commercial production on January 1, 2019.
Latest Developments
The focus at Styldrift is now on developing and embedding the operational maturity and associated efficiencies to enable the mine to sustainably achieve 230 000 t a month.
Notwithstanding Covid-19’s impact on Styldrift’s ability to fully leverage its installed infrastructure capacity effectively, total tonnes hoisted for the quarter ended September 2021 totalled to 658 000 t, equating to a 4.4% increase, compared with the corresponding 2020 period.
The average hoisting performance for the quarter amounted to 219 000 t a month, with a peak of 228 000 t.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
WorleyParsons (main project engineering); Anglo Technical Division (mine shaft design); Mining & Engineering Technical Services, or Mets (services shaft headgears); Shaft Sinkers (main and services shafts and associated works until January 2015, when RBPlat terminated its contract); Louwill Engineering (main and services shafts headgears and winder-house structural manufacturing and erection); FLSmidth Minerals (main shaft personnel and material winder mechanical portion); Actom – formerly Alstom Industry (main shaft personnel-and-material winder – electrical portion); Coilmech (service winder – mechanical and electrical portions); Stefanutti Stocks Civils Wramatshe joint venture (civils Phase 2 contract – main bulk surface civils); Sarens (cranes), Sandvik Mining (underground primary trackless fleet); Fermel (secondary trackless fleet); Master Drilling, Murray & Roberts and Redpath (vertical raiseboring); and Howden (surface fan supply and installation).
All procurement and construction management are currently owner-managed.
Contact Details for Project Information
RBPlat communications manager Thapelo Montshioa, email thapeloM1@bafokengplatinum.co.za; or communications assistant Priscilla Mabaso, email Priscilla@Bafokengplatinum.co.za.