• EDITOR’S CHOICE PROJECTS | PLATREEF IVANPLATS’ PLATREEF PROJECT Ivanhoe Mines’ 64% platinum-focused subsidiary Ivanplats is developing what could be the world’s largest PGE mine. Thanks to an ultra-thick (19 m), flat underground ore body known as the ‘flatreef’, located just outside Mokopane in Limpopo province on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex, the multi-billion dollar Platreef Project represents the future of South Africa’s platinum industry and Ivanplats is clearly leading the way. LAURA CORNISH visited the site and spoke with Ivanplats’ Vice President & Executive Head of Projects GERICK MOUTON to learn about this phenomenal project. IN SHORT The Platreef PGE project continues to break all traditional boundaries associated with platinum mining on the Eastern and Western Limbs of the Bushveld Complex. Platreef’s differentiating factors The Platreef project comprises 346 Mt of indicated resources at a “healthy” average grade of 3.77 g/t of 4E PGE material (platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold) with another 506 Mt of inferred resources. “Together this equates to over 800 Mt of combined resource across an area that only covers about 10% of our total tenement,” says Mouton. “So although we have significant upside exploration potential of 48 km2, we already have more than enough resources to build a world-class, large-scale mining operation.” Unlike most typical, conventional mines on the Eastern and Western Bushveld Limbs, which are dominated by relatively narrow Merensky and UG2 reefs and negligible amounts of base metals, the Platreef ore body represents a dominant thick Merensky Reef and also contains a significant amount of base metals – specifically over 0.3% nickel and 0.15% copper. “Selling these two metals in the volumes we expect to produce could ultimately pay for the entire operation, meaning all our mined PGEs could potentially be profit.” In order to manage capital outlay to establish what could be the world’s largest PGE mine, the plan is to build the mega- mine in phases. At an initial 4 Mtpa or 433 000 4E ozpa, Platreef would already be 26 MINING REVIEW AFRICA | JANUARY 2017 P latreef headgear