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Impala Platinum
Impala Platinum, Implats’ primary operational unit, has operations situated on the Impala lease area on the western limb of the world-renowned Bushveld Complex near Rustenburg in South Africa, and in Springs east of Johannesburg. In FY2007 the operation produced 1.055 million ounces of platinum and has a 30 year production plan in place to produce between 1.1 and 1.2 million ounces of platinum per annum.
History
Hans Merensky first discovered platinum in the Bushveld Igneous Complex in 1924. Impala was established in the mid 1960’s to house Union Corporation’s platinum interests. At this time a prospecting permit was acquired and initial production commenced in 1969. Initially Impala mined the Merensky Reef and mining on the UG2 chromitite layer only began in the early 1980’s as the technology to smelt higher chrome ore was developed. By the early 1990’s Impala had become a 1 million ounce per annum platinum producer.
A mining lease over land predominantly owned by the Bafokeng Tribe (now the Royal Bafokeng Nation) was originally granted in 1968. A landmark agreement securing Impala’s access to these mineral rights for a period of 40 years was signed with the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) in February 1999. In terms of this agreement, the RBN not only enjoyed royalties from metals mined in areas over which they held mineral rights, but they also became a major shareholder in the holding company, Implats, with board representation. A new agreement finalised in early March 2007 resulted in the royalty being converted into equity in Implats thus making the RBN that company’s largest shareholder.
Geology
Both the Merensky Reef and UG2 Chromitite Layer, which are contained in the Rustenburg Layered Suite, a well-layered ultramafic to mafic igneous succession on the 2 billion year-old Bushveld Complex, are present throughout the lease area. Both reefs sub-outcrop on the mining area and dip approximately 9 to 10 degrees towards the centre of the Complex, although locally, dips may increase to 15 degrees.
| Orebody | Category | Channel tonnes (millions) | Grade (g/t) 3PGE+Au | Grade (g/t) 5PGE+Au | Pt oz (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merensky | Measured | 121.3 | 6.06 | 6.94 | 15.4 |
| Indicated | 89.3 | 6.13 | 7.02 | 11.5 | |
| Inferred | 71.2 | 6.83 | 7.83 | 10.2 | |
| UG2 | Measured | 117.8 | 6.93 | 9.03 | 16.3 |
| Indicated | 73.8 | 6.75 | 8.79 | 9.9 | |
| Inferred | 58.5 | 6.96 | 9.06 | 8.1 | |
| Total | 531.9 | 6.56 | 8.03 | 71.4 |
| Orebody | Category | Tonnes (millions) | Pt grade (g/t) | Pt oz (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 & 2 tailings complex | Indicated | 48.1 | 0.42 | 0.6 |
| Orebody | Category | Mill tonnes (millions) | Grade (g/t) 3PGE+Au | Grade (g/t) 5PGE+Au | Pt oz (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merensky | Proved | 23.0 | 4.07 | 4.66 | 2.0 |
| Probable | 104.7 | 4.04 | 4.63 | 8.9 | |
| UG2 | Proved | 23.2 | 3.89 | 5.06 | 1.8 |
| Probable | 105.6 | 3.88 | 5.06 | 8.2 | |
| Total | 256.4 | 4.0 | 4.85 | 20.8 |
Note: Mineral Resources are quoted inclusive of Mineral Reserves, see Implats’ Annual Report 2007 for full details.
Impala Platinum – UG2 metals split 3PGE+Au
Impala Platinum – Merensky metals split3PGE+Au
Mining
Operations at Impala Platinum, the largest single mining entity of its kind in the world, comprise 14 operating shafts, five of which have underground decline systems, covering an area of 260km². Mining currently extends to a depth of around 1,000 metres, with most operations occurring at an average depth of 650 metres. The mining width for Merensky Reef is typically about 1 metre (including dilution), whilst that for UG2 is about 0.9 metres. Each shaft develops and mines about 8km². In FY2007 Impala milled around 16,302 million tonnes of ore, yielding 1.055 million ounces of platinum. Plans are in place to maintain production levels between 1.1 and 1.2 million ounces of platinum for the next 30 years.
Currently the operation is undertaking a capital programme initiated in 1993 to extend the lives of the existing shaft systems and to develop new shafts. The initial phases focused on the development of a series of five decline shaft systems below the current third generation vertical shafts and a vertical shaft link with 12 Shaft. At present, three decline shafts are in full production with development of the remaining two decline projects (11 and 14 shafts) nearing completion.
The construction of two new shafts (16 and 20 shafts) was approved in September 2004. At full production these two shafts will together produce 340,000 ounces of platinum annually. 20 shaft is scheduled to come into production in FY2009 and 16 shaft in FY2012 with full production scheduled for FY2013 and FY2016 respectively.
Metallurgy
Impala is committed to maintaining a leading edge in its metallurgical operations. Significant capital expenditure programmes have been undertaken to ensure sufficient capacity to meet the Group’s strategy to deliver 2.5 million ounces of platinum per annum by 2012 and 2.8 million ounces thereafter. Both smelter and refinery capacities are currently being expanded to accommodate this growth in ounces. In March 2006 the expansion of the smelter was initiated and this will increase capacity to 2.8 million ounces at Mineral Processes. A phased expansion to increase refining capacity to a similar level has also been approved.
Mineral Processes houses the concentrator (milling, flotation and drying) consisting of 30 run-of-mine semi-autogeneous mills, and smelter operations which operate two immersed 37MW arc electric furnaces. A third furnace is currently being upgraded. The operation’s key focus in recent years has been on improving concentrator recoveries. Refineries comprises both a Base Metals Refinery (BMR) and a Precious Metals Refinery (PMR).
Enlarge process flow diagram
Black Economic Empowerment
In terms of an agreement finalised in early March 2007, Impala have agreed to pay the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) all royalties due to them from the 1st July 2007 onwards. This amounts to R12.5 billion. Effectively through this transaction, Impala Platinum will have discharged its obligation to pay royalties to the RBN. The RBN have in turn subscribed for 75.1 million Implats shares giving them a 13.4% share in the holding company. This transaction meets the ownership requirements of the Mining Charter for 2014.
Sustainable Development
Impala is committed to the transformation of the mining industry and believes that it is a strategic imperative for future sustainability. The operation has used the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), Mining Charter, Mining Scorecard and Codes of Good Practice as guidelines to ensure a holistic approach. The result is a proactive strategy designed to ensure that genuine transformation is achieved, notably in terms of ownership, management, skills development, employment equity, procurement, housing and rural development.
| FY2007 | FY2006 | FY2005 | FY2004 | FY2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production | ||||||
| Tonnes milled | (000 t) | 16,302 | 16,441 | 15,778 | 15,639 | 15,042 |
| Headgrade (5E + Au) | (g/t) | 4.71 | 4.63 | 4.82 | 4.91 | 5.06 |
| Platinum refined production | (000 oz) | 1,055 | 1,125 | 1,115 | 1,090 | 1,040 |
| PGM refined production | (000 oz) | 1,872 | 2,003 | 2,062 | 1,976 | 1,924 |
| Productivity | ||||||
| (m²/panel man) | 38.0 | 38.0 | 40.1 | 39.2 | 40.7 | |
| (Pt oz/employee) | 38 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 37 | |
| Mining cost of sales | ||||||
| On-mine operations | (Rm) | 4,798 | 3,815 | 3,346 | 3,122 | 2,824 |
| Concentrating and smelting | (Rm) | 918 | 834 | 764 | 716 | 625 |
| Refining | (Rm) | 377 | 387 | 355 | 328 | 312 |
| Selling and administration | (Rm) | 385 | 232 | 252 | 225 | 235 |
| Total cost | ||||||
| per tonne milled | (R/t) | 397 | 323 | 299 | 281 | 266 |
| ($/t) | 55 | 51 | 48 | 41 | 29 | |
| per platinum ounce refined | (R/oz) | 6,138 | 4,726 | 4,232 | 4,027 | 3,843 |
| ($/oz) | 853 | 740 | 684 | 587 | 426 | |
| Profit | ||||||
| Gross margin | % | 61.8 | 53.1 | 42.1 | 41.5 | 52.3 |
| Capital expenditure | (Rm) | 2,098 | 1,601 | 1,693 | 1,197 | 1,079 |
| ($m) | 292 | 205 | 274 | 174 | 120 | |
| Safety | ||||||
| LTIFR (per million man hours worked) | 4.19 | 3.94 | 4.01 | 5.30 | 6.07 | |
| FIFR (per million man hours worked) | 0.106 | 0.079 | 0.048 | 0.099 | 0.099 | |
| Labour complement | (000) | 27.6 | 26.9 | 26.9 | 27.5 | 28.4 |
