Modern Mining January 2015

PLATINUM

an area north of the previously mapped North Limb of the Bushveld Complex,” said PTM at the time. The Waterberg discovery has attracted atten- tion internationally and in December 2012 it was named as ‘Global Exploration Discovery of the Year’ at the prestigious Mining Journal Outstanding Achievement Awards, part of the Mines and Money Conference held in London every year. It is a genuine virgin discovery, as there was apparently no recorded PGE explo- ration in the area (although regional mapping was conducted by JCI and the Council for Geoscience) prior to PTM’s involvement. PTM’s interest in the Waterberg discovery is via two separate projects – the Waterberg JV project, in which it holds an effective 49,9 % stake, and the Waterberg Extension project, in which it has an 87 % share. Its partners in the Waterberg JV are the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) and empowerment company Mnombo Wethu Consultants. The total identified resource over both projects now stands at an exceptional 29 Moz 4E (287 Mt grading 3,15 g/t 4E) in the inferred category and a new resource update is expected shortly. The resource has been modelled from 127 m deep to a model cut-off of 1 250 m. The results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Waterberg JV proj- ect undertaken by WorleyParsons were announced roughly a year ago. Highlights were a steady-state production of 655 000 ounces of platinum, palladium and gold (3E), a two-year construction period, a project post-tax NPV (7,5 % discount rate) of US$509 million and a peak funding requirement of US$885 million. The mine plan proposed in the PEA utilises three decline clusters for access as a result of the shallow depth of the deposit. The planned mining method is all mechanised including a combination of room and pillar mining on mineralised layers 3 to 10 m thick and longhole open stoping on lay- ers from 10 to 60 m thick. In October last year, PTM announced that it had completed 71 000 m of vertical core drilling at the Waterberg projects, success- fully expanding and detailing the Waterberg T, F and Super F Zones. Intercepts included hole WB123 on the Waterberg JV returning an 80 m thickness intercept of 4,80 g/t 3E (1,41 g/t platinum, 3,18 g/t palladium, 0,21 g/t gold, 0,10 % Cu and 0,23 % Ni) from 370 to 450 m. PTM followed up with an announce- ment in early December that a new high grade intercept on the Waterberg Extension had con- firmed the strike continuation of the F Zone for

Above: Aerial view of the Project 1 site. As at the end of November, the project had reached 70 % completion. Right: The Waterberg discovery represents a new PGM district and extends the known limits of the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex.

24 % of the workforce drawn from local communities. In its quarterly report, PTM also updates on developments at its spectacular Waterberg PGM discovery, north of Mokopane on what is now perceived as a new ‘lobe’ of the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. The mineralisation identified constitutes a large system with mul- tiple thick layers, making it amenable to bulk mechanised underground mining. The discovery was made 70 km north of Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine and was announced by PTM in November 2011 in a release in which the com- pany reported drill intercepts grading 3,47 g/t platinum, palladium and gold over 3,5 m at a depth of approximately 660 m. “The high grade, thick, layered intercepts are located in

44  MODERN MINING  January 2015