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Impala Refining Services (IRS)
Overview
Impala Refining Services (IRS) was created in July 1998 as a dedicated vehicle to house the toll refining and metal concentrate purchases built up by the group. The concept behind IRS has become a major strategic thrust for Implats and has delivered phenomenal growth. IRS, which sources material from five continents, enables Implats to leverage its surface assets and expertise, to reduce costs related to Impala-production (through economies of scale) and to pursue growth through strategic alliances and joint ventures.
During the 2006 financial year, IRS reported attributable platinum production of 721,000 ounces (1.49 million ounces of PGMs) with nickel production of 7,700 tonnes.
Key benefits for Implats of growth through IRS (as opposed to growth through pure mining projects) is that there is reduced exposure to mining risk as well as lower investment requirements. The exploitation of smaller deposits by third parties is possible, thus ensuring increased supply of Impala-brand metal into world markets.
Typical products processed by Impala on behalf of IRS include;
- flotation concentrates from Aquarius Platinum with whom the relationship has been extended from the first offtake agreement involving Kroondal to include offtake agreements for Marikana and most recently Everest. Other flotation concentrates are sourced from Marula and Mimosa
- furnace matte from Zimplats
- spent autocatalysts from A-1 Specialized Services and Supplies Inc. for recycling
- selected base metal residues and other secondary materials befitting the Impala processing flowsheet.
IRS's modus operandi is to enter into either metal purchase agreements or toll refining agreements, or a combination of the two. In metal purchase agreements, a percentage of the contained metal (allowing for Impala's cost and a profit margin) is purchased after an agreed processing period. In toll refining agreements, IRS charges the client a smelting, refining and handling fee and either purchases, or returns to the client, a market-related percentage of the contained metal after an agreed processing period.
Impala Platinum's personnel process metal on behalf of IRS using Impala's processing assets and charge IRS a market-related fee.
Growth
From the outset, IRS, backed by Impala's proven processing capability, has provided its customers with consistent execution of all facets of their offtake agreements. IRS is engaging in discussions relating to the exploitation of future reserves and welcomes approaches from customers needing an established processing route for their precious metal-containing products.
