Name and Location
Bakubung platinum group metals (PGMs) mine project, North West, South Africa.

Client
JSE-listed Wesizwe Platinum.

Project Description
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 the City of Rustenburg, in the North West.

The project entails the construction of a PGM mine on Wesizwe Platinum'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 250 000 t/m of run-of-mine ore at full capacity.

The key results of the optimisation study include:
• semi-mechanising all mining;
• shortening the shafts through the removal of underground crushing, and bringing level development close to reef horizons (on-reef development), which will result in a substantial reduction in off-reef development and an increase in hoisting capacity to support the increased production rates;
• the substantial use of conveyor belts to transport ore, and chairlifts to transport mineworkers;
• using a third 6 m raise-bore shaft to further assist with ventilation and logistics (men and material) and to allow for the second alternate exit;
• increasing hoisting capacity to support the increased production rates;
• removing underground infrastructure to surface, including primary crushing; and
• revising the shaft pillar strategy, which will be mined at the end of the mine’s life.

Value
According to the optimisation study, the control budget estimate of nominal capital expenditure is expected to decrease from R12.03-billion to R10.69-billion, primarily as a result of the significantly improved ramp-up timeframe to full production. Real capital cost has resulted in a 9% increase, largely owing to the cost of capital equipment designed to reduce operating costs over the life-of-mine, including conveyor belts and chairlifts.

Duration
The initial 230 000 t/m production level is now planned for October 2020, as opposed to December 2022.

Latest Developments
The main shaft at the Bakubung platinum mine had been sunk to 803 m below collar and had reached the brow of the 81 level station in August this year.

Once the 81 level station has been completed, the shaft will be sunk to the bottom, at the 82 level, and will be 826 m deep. Having completed the 77 level station, the Bakubung service shaft has reached 783 m below surface, and is being sunk to the 81 level. Shaft sinking started in July 2012 and both shafts will complete sinking in the last quarter of this year.

Completion of the shaft-sinking phase will be a significant milestone for the project, especially because Wesizwe will have negotiated the risks associated with such a process. On completion of sinking, the main shaft will proceed to strip out the shaft-sinking services, equip the shaft with permanent steelwork and then complete Phase 1 commissioning. The permanent headgear will also be completed and the Koepe winders will be commissioned.

Concurrently, all the development on 69, 72, 77 and 81 levels between the main and service shafts will be blasted and hoisted through the service shaft. The main and service shafts are concrete lined, with diameters of 8.5 m and 7.5 m respectively. In terms of ventilation, both shafts are downcast shafts.

Further, two raise-bored, upcast shafts, both 6.1 m in diameter, will be developed on the surface footprint of the mine.

Wesizwe is adjudicating the placement of an order on the engineering, procurement and construction management for the process plant.  It plans to place an order in September and prepare for front-end engineering. The process plant commissioning is planned for the third quarter of 2019.

The overall requirements of the mine are being met through the team’s preparing for main shaft equipping and commissioning. The mine’s operational readiness programme strategy and plan have been defined and implementation has been initiated.

Preparations for starting shaft equipping are progressing well, with commissioning of the jigging shed, as well as the first batch of steelwork and 11 km of shaft cable, delivered. On-surface permanent stores and a rail link to the jigging shed are also being installed.

The services projects for power and water supply are also progressing, with the first 1.75-million litres a day of water supply expected at the end of 2015. Phase 2 power commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter of 2016, which will provide installed capacity of 60 MVA – the full requirement for mining and processing through life-of-mine.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
WorleyParsons (feasibility study and current engineering, procurement and construction management contract); Scribante Construction (earthworks and civil work Phase 1); Benco Engineering (blasting); Blast Management & Consulting (blast monitoring); Eskom (power supply); Liviero (civil earthworks and concrete) and Aveng Grinaker-LTA Mining (shaft-sinking contract).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule.

The cost of the project has decreased from R12.03-billion to R10.69-billion.

Contact Details for Project Information
Wesizwe Platinum executive: corporate affairs and investor relations Hamlet Morule, tel +27 11 994 4600, fax +27 11 944 4601 or email hamlet@wesizwe.com.
Scribante Construction, tel +27 11 466 9232, fax +27 11 466 9233 or email office@scribanteconstruction.co.za.
WorleyParsons, tel +27 11 218 3000 or fax +27 11 218 3100.
Aveng Grinaker-LTA, +27 11 578 6000 or fax +27 11 578 6161.