Name of the Project
Booysendal South platinum mine project.

Location
The project is situated about 35 km from Mashishing, straddling the border of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, in South Africa.

Client
Northam Platinum.

Project Description
Booysendal South will incorporate the infrastructure of Aquarius Platinum’s former Everest mine, which Northam acquired in June 2015.

Infrastructure includes a 250 000 t/m concentrator, underground access and equipment, as well as tailings storage.

The proposed project has been divided into two upper group two, bord-and-pillar mining modules – Booysendal South 1 and Booysendal South 2 – which will be accessed from one portal complex, reducing its environmental impact and capital requirements; and a Merensky reef mine similar to that at Booysendal North.

Northam will install an aerial wheel-on-rope conveyor system, known as Ropecon, to deliver ore from the central portal complex to a concentrator 4.9 km away.

Steady-state production is estimated at 260 000 t/m.

Jobs to be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The project has a capital allocation of R4.2-billion over a six-year period.

Duration
The project is expected to reach steady state in 2022.

Latest Developments
Murray & Roberts Cementation has been awarded the Phase 1 contract for the establishment of the Booysendal South central complex, located on the same mining lease as Booysendal platinum mine.

The contract, due to start in April 2017, is to develop an access decline system, which will be established in Phase 1 of the project. Significantly, trackless mining methods will be employed on the access development with load-haul-dumper tramming used to remove the waste rock and ore until the conveyor systems are established and commissioned.

The leading underground mining contractor will then mine the access decline system, initially inclining to the reef intersection and then declining down through the UG2 reef footwall to continue as on-reef declines to provide access to Phase 2 stoping activities. A standalone ventilation adit, initially driven on reef and then turning as a strike vent drive, will be developed to intersect the nearest decline.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Doppelmayr Transport Technology (wheel-on-rope conveyor system) and Murray & Roberts Cementation (Phase 1 contract for the establishment of the Booysendal South central complex).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
North Platinum media and investor relations, René Rautenbach, tel +27 11 759 6000, fax +27 11 325 4795 or email Rene.Rautenbach@norplats.co.za.