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MODERN MINING
January 2015
PLATINUM
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
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