Name of the Project
Impala 17 Shaft project.

Location
The Impala No 17 Shaft project is located in South Africa’s North West province.

Client
Impala Platinum (Implats).

Project Description
The No 17 Shaft project, in Rustenburg, is a tonnage-replacement project for the Impala Rustenburg operations and is located downdip of the No 10 shaft. The shaft complex is designed to produce 225 000 t/m, or 2.7-million tonnes a year, of reef from eight operational levels, equating to 180 000 oz of platinum at full capacity. The shaft will access the Merensky and upper group two reef horizons. The entire mine design is conventional, with horizontal crosscuts to reef on 32 half levels.

The shaft complex comprises three vertical concrete-lined shafts – a rock and men-and-materials shaft (10-m-lined diameter), a dedicated downcast chilled-air (fridge) shaft (6-m-lined diameter) and an upcast ventilation shaft (9-m-lined diameter).

A total of 1 300 kg/s of chilled air will be channelled down through the rock and men-and-materials shaft and the fridge shaft to cool and ventilate the underground workings.

A Koepe winder will hoist the rock to surface before ore is transported to the plant on rail, while a second Koepe winder will transport men and materials.

The shaft will produce 180 000 platinum ounces a year at steady state.

Jobs to be Created
No stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
R12.4-billion.

Duration
The project was expected to come into production in 2021, but has now been put on care and maintenance.

Latest Developments
Project development work at 17 Shaft was placed on a low-cost care and maintenance programme in February 2016, as a result of persistently low metal prices.

Impala Platinum has indicated that no capital will be spent on this project in 2017.

To maintain the profile of the lease once 16 and 20 Shafts are at steady state, dewatering of 17 Shaft will need to start in 2020.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
WorleyParsonsTWP (engineering, procurement and construction management); Scribante (earthworks); Murray & Roberts, or M&R (civils); Redpath Mining (main shaft); Louwill Engineering (building structures); NIC Electrical & Instrumentation Construction (construction and instrumentation); Grinaker-LTA (shaft headgear erection contract); DRA Technical Services; ABB; Siemag Tecberg; Coilmec; Actom; Siemens; and Winder Controls (supply of winders for the project); BBE Projects (turnkey design, construction and commissioning of the refrigeration plant and air cooler system); and Johnson Controls, subcontracted by BBE Projects (supply of chiller system).

On Budget and on Time?
First production from No 17 shaft was expected in the 2021 financial year, but the project was recently put on care and maintenance.

Contact Details for Project Information
Impala No 17 Shaft general manager Hansie Fourie, cell +27 82 802 0704.
BBE Projects, tel +27 11 706 9800, fax +27 11 706 6931 or email bbe@bbe.co.za.
Grinaker-LTA, corporate affairs, tel +27 11 578 6000, fax +27 11 578 6161 or email enquiry@grinaker-lta.co.za.
Johnson Controls Systems & Services public relations manager Nanda Aerts, tel +32 2 709 4481 or email Nanda.Aerts@jci.com.
Louwill Engineering, tel +27 11 818 5186 or email ben@louwill.co.za.
M&R, tel +27 11 456 6200, fax +27 11 455 2222 or email info@murrob.com.
NIC Electrical & Instrumentation Construction, tel +27 11 386 5000, fax +27 11 786 6786 or email engineering@nicinst.co.za.
WorleyParsonsTWP, tel +27 11 218 3000, fax +27 11 218 3100 or email twpinfo@twp.co.za.