Name of the Project
Booysendal South tailings storage facility (TSF).

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

Project Owner/s
Northam Platinum.

Project Description
The project entails the hydromining and reprocessing of the Booysendal South 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 the environmental impact.

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

Initially, 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. Once the PGM flotation circuit has been recommissioned, it will be a continuous process of PGM extraction and then chrome extraction.

Potential Job Creation
200.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.
 

Planned Start /End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The Booysendal concentrator was commissioned in April 2019.

Concentrate from Booysendal South was delivered to the smelter in May and June, subsequent to the processing of the ore stockpile accumulated during the Booysendal South mine establishment phase.

Meanwhile, hydromining and reprocessing from of tailings from the South TSF continues. A total of 1.37-million tonnes were processed during the year ended June 30, 2019, yielding sales of 92 651 t of chromite concentrate and 3 569 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, or 4E PGM.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
The development of Booysendal South is progressing within budget and on schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
R&A Strategic Communications on behalf of Northam Platinum, tel +27 11 880 3924 or email northam@rasc.co.za.