Name and Location
Styldrift I expansion project, North West, South Africa.

Client
Royal Bafokeng Platinum, or RBPlat (67%), and Anglo American Platinum (33%).

Project Description
The Styldrift project area adjacent to the existing Boschkoppie mining area, is located about 5.5 km from the existing Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine.

The project will exploit one of the last major Merensky mining blocks on the Western Bushveld.

Styldrift I will deliver an underground operation, which will be accessed through a twin vertical shaft system, with the main shaft being sunk to 758 m and the services shaft to 723 m.

The configuration of the main shaft will allow for a single-deck personnel-and-material cage compartment that can transport 185 people; a cage counterweight compartment; two Merensky reef skip compartments, each designed to accommodate a 22 t skip; and two future skip compartments, each accommodating a 13 t skip.

The services shaft will comprise a personnel-and-equipment cage compartment, with the capacity to transport 22 people, and a cage counterweight compartment.

Four winders will be used during the project construction phase and three during the production phase. The height of the main shaft headgear is 58.6 m and the service shaft 41.3 m.

Concentrator capacity will be 2.76-million tonnes a year.

Initially, wide-reef trackless mining methods will be used, followed by a combination of wide-reef trackless mining and narrow-reef conventional mining methods.

The mine will process 230 000 t/m of Merensky reef and 20 000 t/m of waste at steady state.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The project is estimated R11.01-billion.

Capital expenditure for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, amounted to R434.98-million, bringing total expenditure and total commitments on the project to R4.25-billion and R5.07-billion respectively.

The total expenditure for the project remains forecast at R2.41-billion, including the concentrator upgrade, contingencies and escalation and is aligned to RBPlat’s estimate at completion of R11.01-billion.

RBPlat has an obligation to fund 67% of the total project.

Duration
Steady-state production is expected in the first quarter of 2019.

Latest Developments
Steady progress has been made on all mining and infrastructure construction-related activities at Styldrift I, with minimal disruption to shaft equipping activities as a result of terminating the contract in March with Shaft Sinkers, the principal sinking and development contractor on the project.

Mining and infrastructure is 54% complete, with the Main shaft remaining on schedule for commissioning during the second quarter of this year, while concentrator infrastructure related construction activities, which includes the upgrade of the current BRPM concentrator and construction of an overland conveyor belt from Styldrift to BRPM, continues to progress according to plan.

The BRPM Phase III project, which entailed the extension of the North shaft decline access infrastructure and associated reef infrastructure from level 10 to the mine boundary, level 15, also continued to progress well.

The overall project at the end of this reporting period was 76% complete, which is 7% ahead of schedule. Project expenditure for the quarter amounted to R40.7-million, bringing the total project expenditure to date to R830.14-million.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
WorleyParsons (main project engineering, procurement and construction management contractor); Anglo Technical Division (mine shaft design); Mining & Engineering Technical Services, or Mets (services shaft headgears); Shaft Sinkers (main and services shafts and associated works until January 2015, when RBPlat terminated its contract); Louwill Engineering (main and services shafts’ headgears and winder house structural manufacturing and erection); FLSmidth Minerals (main shaft personnel and material winder mechanical portion); Actom - formerly Alstom Industry (main shaft personnel and material winder electrical portion); Coilmech (service winder mechanical and electrical portions); Stefanutti Stocks Civils Wramatshe joint venture (civils Phase 2 contract – main bulk surface civils); Sarens (cranes) and Sandvik Mining (underground production trackless equipment).

On Budget and on Time?
In October 2014, the company reported that its expansion project was delayed by six months, owing to activities having been constrained by the service shaft hoisting capacity. Ramp-up is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016.

The capital cost of the project remains at R11.01-billion.

Contact Details for Project Information
RBPlat executive corporate affairs Mpueleng Pooe, tel +27 10 590 4515 or email mpueleng@bafokengplatinum.co.za; or investor relations manager Lindiwe Montshiwagae, tel +27 10 590 4510 or email lindiwe@bafokengplatinum.co.za.
WorleyParsons, tel +27 11 218 3000.
Mets, tel +61 8 9421 9000 or fax +61 8 9325 8311.
Louwill Engineering, tel +27 11 818 5186, fax +27 11 818 5185 or email mail@louwill.co.za.
FLSmidth Minerals, tel +45 36 18 10 00, fax +45 36 44 11 46 or email info@flsmidth.com.
Actom, tel +27 11 820 5111 or fax +27 11 820 5100.
Coilmech, tel +27 11 452 4063, fax +27 11 452 6104 or email info@coilmech.co.za.
Stefanutti Stocks, tel +27 11 571 4300, fax +27 11 571 4370 or email holdings@stefstocks.com.
Sarens, tel +27 11 861 3800, fax +27 11 861 3899 or email info@sarenssa.co.za.
Sandvik Mining EMEA business development manager Bjorn Gohre, tel +27 11 570 9676.