Modern Mining January 2015

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36 MODERN MININGJanuary 2015
PLATINUM
assembled large assemblies on the ground. A
1 100-ton crane was brought to site to lift these
large assemblies with masses of up to 235 tons.
The Bakubung PlatinumMine is expected to
start commissioning in late 2018. Once steady
state production is reached in 2021, it will
employ approximately 3 130 people, provid-
ing a major economic boost to an impoverished
Inside the main shaft
winder house. Bakubung’s
total hoisting capacity is
265 000 tonnes/month.
area. Wesizwe, which has a range of ambitious
community and labour initiatives in place, is
highly focused on maximising employment
opportunities for the local community during
both the construction and operating phases of
the project. Around 30 % of the current work-
force on site is drawn from within a 50 km
radius of BPM (with much of it from the com-
munity of Ledig, which directly adjoins the
mine property). Once the mine is in full oper-
ation, it is expected that at least 70 % of the
labour complement will be recruited locally.
Wesizwe is listed on the JSE and is 45 %
owned by Chinese interests in the form of the
Jinchuan Group and China Africa Development
Fund. The Chinese involvement in Africa’s
mining industry has been controversial at
times but Wesizwe is generally regarded as an
example of a highly successful Chinese/African
partnership. Certainly the Chinese involvement
in Bakubung has given the project the financial
resources to proceed in a constrained market
which has seen other players in South Africa’s
platinum mining industry cutting back on new
capital investment.
Photos courtesy of Wesizwe (unless otherwise acknowledged)
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