Ivanhoe Mines Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President, Marna Cloete, announced at the African Mining Indaba Conference the completion of the Shaft 1 production changeover at the company’s tier-one Platreef palladium, rhodium, nickel, platinum, copper and gold project in South Africa, operated by Ivanplats. Shaft 1 will serve as Platreef’s initial production shaft and is approximately 450 m away from the first high-grade area of the Flatreef orebody scheduled to be mined during Phase 1 production. On April 22, 2022, Ivanplats celebrated the first blast at Platreef’s 950 m level, marking the commencement of lateral mine development, with first production anticipated in the third quarter of 2024.
Underground mine development will use battery-electric Epiroc equipment manufactured at its facilities in Örebro, Sweden. Ivanhoe stated: “The partnership with Epiroc for emissions-free mining equipment is an important first step toward reducing the carbon footprint of the mine, with learnings to be applied across all of Ivanhoe Mines’ operations.”
Ivanplats’ initial order with Epiroc of Stockholm, Sweden, for its primary mining fleet includes emissions-free, battery-electric M2C jumbo face drill rigs, ST14 Battery 14 t Scooptrams (LHDs), battery-electric Boltec bolting rigs and MT42 Battery 42 t dump trucks. Ivanplats has received Platreef’s first battery powered underground equipment; a ST14 Scooptram and a Manitou MHTX 790 telehandler, which have successfully been slung down to the 950 m level and are now working.
Construction of Platreef’s initial solar-power plant is scheduled to commence in August 2022, with commissioning expected in 2023. The solar-generated power from the initial plant will be used for mine development and construction activities, as well as for charging Platreef’s battery-powered underground mining fleet.
“Ivanhoe Mines is committed to being an ESG leader and the implementation of electric vehicles and solar-generated power at Platreef aligns with our goals of limiting emissions and environmental impacts,” commented Executive Vice President, Technical Services, Pierre Joubert. “We plan to continue to assess and implement leading-edge renewable technologies across our world-scale mineral portfolio.
“The completion of changeover is another noteworthy milestone in the growth of Ivanhoe Mines into a major, diversified miner; one with top ESG credentials and an industry-leading portfolio of tier-one assets,” said Cloete. “Given our string of successes at Kamoa-Kakula, Platreef, Kipushi, and Western Foreland, it is a great time to be part of the exceptional Ivanhoe team, and continue our track record of delivering world-scale projects on schedule and on budget. I’m extremely proud of how we all work together to keep things on the right track.” She adds: “Platreef is very scalable. The Phase 1 mine is only the beginning of a multi-stage, multi-generational mining complex underpinned by an enormous, high-grade resource and vast exploration upside. Future expansions to 12 million tonnes of ore per annum and beyond, as demonstrated in previous studies, would position Platreef among the world’s largest and lowest-cost nickel and PGM mines: producing more than 24,000 tonnes of nickel and 1.1 million ounces of palladium, rhodium, platinum and gold per year. We expect Platreef to join Kamoa-Kakula in our portfolio as a long-life, leading producer of critical metals that provides outstanding returns for our shareholders and local communities.”
“Platreef is well on track for historic first PGM and base metal production by the third quarter of 2024,” Friedland said. “Since acquiring the Macalacaskop and Turfspruit prospecting permits in 1998, Ivanplats has successfully advanced Platreef to where it is today – the world’s greatest precious metals deposit under development, with a peerless endowment of palladium, rhodium, platinum, and gold; as well as highly significant quantities of strategic ‘electric’ metals such as nickel and copper. We are counting down to production less than 30 months from now, and this achievement will only mark our first milestone. We plan to expand this tier-one operation into one of the largest and lowest-cost, integrated PGM operations on the planet … all while creating a world-scale, long-life economic driver for South Africa, and generating outstanding returns on capital for a major, disruptive mine. Platreef will align with our goal of ‘re-inventing mining’ and leverage the most sustainable technologies available … as evidenced by our commitment to zero-emission, battery-powered equipment, green solar power, and the adoption of the safest possible tailings method utilising dry-stack technology, which has the added benefit of minimising water consumption. We will build on our achievements at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and leverage the valuable experiences from its industry leading phased development model, to build South Africa’s next great PGM complex. Finally, let us also not forget … Platreef still has vast potential to significantly expand an already enormous resource base … as well as a plethora of new nickel-sulphide exploration opportunities, many of which are near surface.”
Three development stations on Shaft 1 have been completed on the 750-, 850-, and 950-m levels. Underground development now is focused on completing the mine’s first ventilation raise, as well as the ore and waste-rock passes connecting the 750 m level to the 950 m level. With the completion of the first blast on Platreef’s 950 m level on April 22, 2022, Ivanplats has started lateral mine development towards the high-grade Flatreef orebody, which is approximately 450 m from the 950 m level station.
The thick Flatreef orebody is flat lying, which is ideal for safe, bulk-scale, mechanized mining optimised for maximum ore extraction. Flatreef is characterized by its high-grade mineralisation and a palladium-to-platinum ratio of approximately 1:1, which is considerably higher than other PGMs discoveries on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld. Newly designed rock chutes on surface will connect the conveyors feeding the concentrator plant and the waste-rock area. The waste rock will be crushed and used as cemented backfill underground for maximum ore extraction, as well as for protection berms to contain storm water and to reduce noise emissions.
Detailed engineering studies are well underway on Platreef’s initial 700,000 t/y mine and concentrator. Earthworks for the first concentrator plant are planned to begin in the second quarter of 2022, followed by civil works and the ordering of long-lead-time items in the second half of 2022. First ore feed to the concentrator is planned for the third quarter of 2024. Phase 1 average annual production is estimated at 113,000 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), plus 5 Mlb of nickel and 3 Mlb of copper.
Early-works surface construction for Shaft 2, including the excavation of a surface box-cut to a depth of approximately 29 m below surface and construction of the concrete hitch for the 103-metre-tall concrete headframe, has been completed. The Shaft 2 headframe construction, from the hitch to the collar level, is progressing well. Ten civil lifts are to be constructed in total, including a ventilation plenum and personnel access tunnel, with targeted completion in May 2022.
While the 700,000 t/y initial mine is operating using Shaft 1, the sinking of the project’s second, larger shaft (Shaft 2), that drives the Phase 2 expansion to 5.2 million tonnes per annum, will progress simultaneously. The 2022 Feasibility Study envisions Shaft 2 equipped for hoisting in 2027, an accelerated schedule by approximately 18 months compared to the 2020 PEA, and coming online approximately three years from first production of Phase 1. Once Shaft 2 is complete, two 2.2-million-tonnes-per-annum concentrator modules will be commissioned, and the initial concentrator will be ramped up to its full capacity of 770,000 t/y, increasing the steady-state production to 5.2 Mt/y.
