Mine development is now underway on the 850-m level at Ivanhoe’s Platreef platinum-group metals, nickel, copper and gold project in South Africa. Shaft 1’s continuing advance has intersected 29 m of high-grade mineralization from underground mine development beginning at a depth of 780 m.

Platreef’s long-term processed wastewater agreement has been finalized to supply most of the bulk water needed for the first phase of production and Platreef is positioned to become a major producer of palladium, which recently became more valuable than gold.

Platreef’s Indicated Mineral Resources contain an estimated 26.8 Moz ounces of palladium, 25.6 Moz of platinum, 4.5 Moz of gold, and 1.8 Moz of rhodium (a combined 58.7 Moz of PGMs plus gold), plus 4,100 Mlb of nickel and 2,100 Mlb of copper, at a cutoff grade of 1 g/t.

Platreef’s Inferred Mineral Resources contain an additional 43.0 Moz of palladium, 40.4 Moz of platinum, 7.8 Moz of gold, and 3.1 Moz of rhodium (a combined 94.3 Moz PGMs plus gold), plus 7,700 Mlb of nickel and 4,100 Mlb of copper, also at a cut-off grade of 1 g/t.

At the base-case cutoff grade of 2 g/t, Indicated Mineral Resources contain an estimated 42.0 Moz of PGMs plus gold, plus 2,400 Mlb of nickel and 1,200 Mlb of copper, with an additional 52.8 Moz of PGMs plus gold, 3,400 Mlb of nickel and 1,800 Mlb of copper in Inferred Resources.

Platreef’s T1 and T2 high-grade mineralized zones have been interpreted as much thicker versions of the high-grade mineralized reefs found on the Western and Eastern limbs of South Africa’s Bushveld Complex.