Name and Location
Impala No 17 Shaft project, Rustenburg, North West, South Africa.

Client
Impala Platinum (Implats).

Project Description
The No 17 Shaft project 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 down cast 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 cast 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.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
 

Value
R12.4-billion.

Implats has slowed capital expenditure on No 17 Shaft to critical path shaft-sinking activities, saving an estimated R2.5-billion over the 2015/16 period. A capital saving of R1.1-billion will be realised in 2015, and R1.4-billion in 2016.
R6.6-billion is expected to be spent on 17 Shaft from 2015 to 2019.

Duration
The project is expected to come into production in 2021.

Latest Developments
Implats has reported in its strategic review released on February 26 that No 17 Shaft remains essential to sustaining future production for Impala, as it is designed to deliver 180 000 oz/y.

The board of directors has prioritised the completion of the main shaft-sinking programme with the option to review the project, the platinum group metals market and the group’s financial position on an ongoing basis.
If the 17 Shaft project is not further slowed, then it is expected to come into production in 2021. This will enable the Impala lease area to maintain production at 850 000 platinum ounces a year beyond 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 is expected in the 2021 financial year, one year later than previously planned.

Contact Details for Project Information
Impala No 17 Shaft project manager Jacey Kruger, cell +27 82 801 1232.
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.