Name of the Project
Booysendal South tailings retreatment project.

Location
The Booysendal mining right straddles South Africa’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.

Client
Northam Platinum.

Project Description
The project entails the hydromining and reprocessing of the Booysendal South tailings storage facility (TSF) to extract 1.3-million tonnes of chrome concentrate from 8.7-million tonnes of tailings, from which platinum-group metals (PGMs) will also be extracted. Tailings from this project will be placed back underground in the old Everest workings to reduce environmental impact.

The tailings have a mineral content of about 18% chrome and 0.7 g to 0.8 g of PGMs a tonne.

The project will be undertaken in two phases – chrome will be extracted first and tailings returned to the storage facility before being processed for a second time to extract PGMs.

Apart from the compelling economics of this project, a key objective is to ensure that the concentrator is fully commissioned and optimised ahead of the run-of-mine feed from the Booysendal South mining project.

Potential Job Creation
450.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
R100-million.

Duration
The plant is expected to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2018.

Latest Developments
Hydromining started in 2017.

An estimated 219 400 t of ore have been processed; and 13 900 t of chrome concentrate produced.

In a full year, the operation is expected to process 1 280 000 t, producing 123 000 t of chrome concentrate.

The entire plant is expected to be commissioned in June 2018, thereafter the processing of tailings for PGMs will begin.

The backfill plant and process design is being finalised.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Northam Platinum, tel +27 11 759 6000 or fax +27 11 325 4795.