Most of the platinum ounces produced by the world’s biggest platinum company in the next ten years would come from mechanised mining, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) CEO Chris Griffith said last week.

Delivering a strong set of results for the six months to June 30 – which saw profit soar 704% to R2.43-billion and headline earnings rise to R2.47-billion, compared with R157-million in the corresponding period – Griffith outlined how Amplats had identified the assets that formed the company’s future vision of high-quality mines capable of low-cost, modern production and high-margin platinum-group-metals (PGMs) output at a diminished safety risk.

“Only the most value-maximising projects will be implemented as part of the retained portfolio,” Griffith said at the presentation of results attended by Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly.

Amplats’ Mogalakwena mine, a fully mechanised opencast mine in Limpopo, operated at a profit margin of more than 50% in the first half of this year and also already mechanised are the company’s underground Bathopele platinum mine, in Rustenburg, and the Unki mine, in Zimbabwe.

Total equivalent refined platinum production from the mines managed directly by Amplats and joint venture (JV) operations for the half-year was 1 108 000 oz, a 55% increase on the first half of 2014.

Mogalakwena, which produced a 9%-higher 201 000 oz in the six months to June 30, is expected to deliver 360 000 oz this year and 380 000 oz to 400 000 oz next year.

“We believe that Amplats remains the strongest of the PGM miners, with flagship mine Mogalakwena being critical in these challenging times,” said Investec Securities in a note.

An optimised mine plan has slashed waste stripping at the rich operation and allowed for the five-times strip ratio to be kept constant for the next decade.

Mogalakwena’s total tonnes rate is expected to be maintained at 100-million tonnes a year, avoiding costs of R1-billion. Many of Amplats’ JV partners, including at Mototolo, Kroondal, Bafokeng Rasimone and the new Styldrift project, have been mechanised for some time.

The wholly owned Twickenham project, which was originally planned as a conventional mine, has been redesigned as a modernised mechanised mine that is heading for approval in 2017.

The Der Brochen platinum project to follow will also be mechanised.

Amandelbult is the only mine in Amplats’ retained portfolio that will not be mechanised, owing mainly to its steeper orebody, which makes mechanisation more difficult.

But a mechanised solution for steeper dips is unfolding as a result of work done at Bathopele, where tracked rather than wheeled machines are being used.

Also, instead of developing a high-capital vertical shaft replacement option for Tumela Upper in the large graben area between the Tumela and Dishaba platinum mines, Amplats came up with a mechanised option, which was far less capital intensive and made use of trackless mining equipment.

“So, even at our one mine where we think it’s more difficult to mechanise, all the new projects that we put in place at Amandelbult will be mechanised,” Griffith told Mining Weekly.