OPERATIONS
IMPALA PLATINUM:
DEFINED BY GEOLOGY
Impala Platinum’s mining
operations are finely tuned
to what is possible in the
complex geology of South
Africa, writes Leon Louw.
Impala Platinum continued with their three major development projects during 2019. One of them, the 16 Shaft project, reached 92% completion
at year-end.
I
t has been 52 years since Impala Platinum (Implats), one
of the prime Platinum Group Metal (PGM) producers in
Southern Africa, sank its first vertical shaft in the most
prodigious platinum belt in the world. The exceptional ore
bodies of South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex continue
to deliver a steady flow of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs),
despite severe price fluctuations in a volatile market.
one of the world’s complex but rich PGM belts. Last year Impala
entered the global arena when it strategically acquired the
Canadian PGM miner, North American Palladium (NAP).
Since Impala, as a subsidiary of the Union Corporation,
developed that first shaft in 1967, the company has expanded
its operations significantly and today it is structured around five
main mining operations and a toll-refining business (Impala
Refining services [IRS]). NAP operates the Lac des Iles Mine northwest of Thunder Bay,
Ontario in Canada, and has a shareholding in two exploration
properties, the Sunday Lake project and the Shebandowan
Joint Venture (JV), also in Canada. In addition, Implats is
currently considering the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)
for the Waterberg JV, on the northern limb of the Bushveld
Complex, which, according to Implats CEO, Nico Muller,
aligns with the company’s strategy to mine low‐cost, shallow,
mechanised ore bodies.
These mines include four operations in South Africa (Impala,
Marula, Impala Refining Services and Two Rivers) and two,
Zimplats and Mimosa, on the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe, another About the North American Palladium deal Muller says that
Implats has had an exploration presence in Canada for more
than two decades. “During the past three years we have
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African Mining
African Mining January 2020
49