TSX- and JSE-listed Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has advised that, following the closing of a rights offering in January, its subsidiary Barplats Mines can now commit R9-million, or C$768 000, to the reconfiguration of a small-scale platinum group metal (PGM) circuit – known as Circuit D – at the company’s operations in the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa.
The rights offering raised about C$11-million, which ensures that funding is also available for some initial work required to restart the PGM Main Circuit.
Barplats has scheduled the work to be completed by the end of February, with recommissioning and operations targeted to start early in March.
The company is pursuing the upgrades to obtain higher-quality concentrate and to consistently produce at least 200 t a month of pressed filter cake PGM concentrate, which is projected to further increase the revenue of the company.
The next phase of the PGM Main Circuit work is projected to start in May, with commissioning slated for October 2021.
Eastplats estimates that this will add a further 800 t of PGM concentrate a month to Barplats’ production, thereby continuing to grow the company's revenue.