Name of the Project
Bakubung Platinum Mine (BPM) project.

Location
On the western limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, north of the City of Rustenburg, in South Africa’s North West province.

Project Owner/s
Wesizwe Platinum.

Project Description
The project entails the construction of a platinum group metals (PGMs) mine on Wesizwe Platinum’s core assets.

The mine will comprise an underground mine, with a twin vertical shaft system, a production shaft and a services shaft, which will also function as the second escape route, and a process plant. An optimisation study completed in 2014 increased mine capacity by 8.7% to 250 000 t a month of run-of-mine ore at full capacity.

The key results of the optimisation study included:
• semimechanising all development;
• 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 increased production rates;
• the substantial use of conveyor belts and chairlifts to transport ore and mineworkers respectively;
• using three 6.1 m raisebore shafts to further assist with ventilation distribution;
• increasing hoisting capacity to support increased production rates;
• moving 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.

A combination of conventional and mechanised methods will be employed.
The Merensky and upper group two reefs will be mined using conventional stoping, with mechanised mining used in all the development to access the two reef horizons.

The concentrator design, emanating from the results of the testwork conducted during the bankable feasibility study, is based on a standard PGMs plant layout.

Options for collaboration in developing synergies with neighbouring mines are continually being investigated to exploit benefits from economies of scale and sharing capital infrastructure costs. BPM will have a 35-year life-of-mine.

Potential Job Creation
Once the mine has reached full production, it is expected to have an estimated 3 190 employees.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
R10.69-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Mining Weekly announced on May 30, 2023, that Wesizwe Platinum would start commissioning of the BPM processing plant on May 31.

However, Wesizwe announced on June 2 that, owing to faults in the ring gear of the ball mill and the feeding mixing tanks of the tailing filter press, the hot commissioning process could not ensue on the aforementioned date.

The company advised shareholders that the hot commissioning of the BPM processing plant would start on June 5, and that production at the BPM would start as soon as possible after the commissioning process has been completed.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Eskom (power supply); LT Services (surface road infrastructure); EBJ Mining Construction (development and construction labour); Kamano group (trackless mine machinery maintenance); NHI (conveyor structure); Howden (ventilation fans); and Louwill (shaft equipping).

Contact Details for Project Information
Wesizwe Platinum, tel +27 11 994 4600 or email info@wesizwe.com.