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MODERN MINING
February 2016
PLATINUM
D
evelopment of Booysendal start-
ed in mid-2011 and the concen-
trator plant was commissioned in
mid-2013. It has now ramped up
to its initial production level of
187 500 reef tonnes a month – which translates
into approximately 160 000 4E PGM ounces
per annum. Murray & Roberts Cementation has
played a key role in getting Booysendal to this
point. The company was awarded a contract in
2010 to develop and equip two sets of declines
(one being an unusual reverse decline cluster
and the other the on-reef decline cluster) and
to also undertake initial stoping. This origi-
nal contract was for 36 months but Murray &
Roberts Cementation is still on site today and
in terms of a recent three-year contract exten-
sion will continue with mining development
and stoping for just under another two years
until the end of December 2017.
While the capital footprint of the mine is now
all but complete in terms of what is known as
the Phase 1 project, there is plenty of ‘blue sky’
at Booysendal as the property has a strike length
of 14,5 km and hosts a resource of 103,6 Moz.
To put this in perspective, this is way ahead of
all other Eastern limb properties with only Der
Brochen (with a strike length of 8,5 km and a
resource of 79,3 Moz) being at all comparable.
Elaborating on the expansion potential,
Theron says that the Phase 1 (or UG2 North)
mine is being deepened to allow Booysendal
to increase production to 215 kt/month. “We’re
also planning to exploit the Merensky reef
from the existing footprint,” he says. “To test
the viability of a Merensky operation, we’ve
established a boxcut and two declines to access
the orebody.
“A bulk sample has now been extracted
for metallurgical testwork and we’re also
Northam Platinum’s new Booysendal mine is a fully mechanised room and pillar operation which is
not only performing strongly in terms of achieving its mining targets but is also (as of this writing)
operating very safely, with its Lost Time Injury Incidence Rate (LTIIR) being significantly lower than the
industry average. “Booysendal is a model mine which is setting new benchmarks for the industry and
which has the potential to become the biggest PGM producer on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld
Complex,” says its GM, Willie Theron, who is a strong proponent of the benefits of mechanisation.
Booysendal –
modern and