Name of the Project
Platreef palladium/rhodium/nickel/platinum/copper/gold project.

Location
The Platreef mine is located on the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, in Limpopo, South Africa. The project hosts the Flatreef deposit, a thick, relatively flat-lying underground platinum group metals, nickel, copper and gold orebody. 

Project Owner/s
Ivanhoe Mines owns 64% of the Platreef project through Ivanplats. A 26% interest is held by Ivanplats’ historically disadvantaged broad-based black economic-empowerment partners, which include 20 local host communities, project employees and local entrepreneurs. The remaining 10% is held by a Japanese consortium comprising Itochu Corporation, Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and Japan Gas Corporation. 

Project Description
Platreef is a mechanised underground mining operation targeting platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, gold and copper mineralisation in the Flatreef deposit. 

The project is being developed in phases. 

Phase 1 comprises a 770 000 t/y concentrator, which produced its first platinum/palladium/nickel/rhodium/gold/copper concentrate in November 2025. During the first quarter of 2026, the Phase 1 concentrator milled 27 512 t of ore at an average feed grade of 2.78 g/t and produced 1 428 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au). Production rates are expected to improve as ore hoisting through Shaft 3 starts and higher-grade stoping ore replaces lower-grade development ore. 

The 2025 feasibility study for Phase 2 proposes a new 3.3-million-tonne-a-year concentrator module, increasing total phases 1 and 2 processing capacity to 4.1-million tonnes a year. Phase 2 is expected to lift production to more than 450 000 oz/y of 3PE+Au, plus about 9 000 t/y of nickel and 6 000 t/y of copper. 

The Phase 3 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) envisages two additional 3.3-million-tonne-a-year concentrator modules, increasing total processing capacity to 10.7-million tonnes a year. Once fully ramped up, Phase 3 is expected to produce more than one-million ounces a year of 3PE+Au, plus about 22 000 t/y of nickel and 13 000 t/y of copper. 

Shaft 1 has a nameplate hoisting capacity of up to one-million tonnes a year. Shaft 3, now completed, adds about four-million tonnes a year of hoisting capacity, increasing Platreef’s available hoisting capacity to about five-million tonnes a year. Shaft 2 is being widened to a final diameter of 10 m and is expected to provide a further eight-million tonnes a year of hoisting capacity once fully operational. 

Potential Job Creation
The most recent project-specific workforce figure published by the company states that the Ivanplats workforce was more than 2 200 employees and contractors, of whom more than 70% were locally based and 26% were female. The company has said the workforce will continue to expand as Phase 2 development advances. 

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The 4.1-million-tonne-a-year 2025 feasibility study estimates an after-tax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $1.39-billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 20%, with a payback period of 7.8 years.

The 10.7-million-tonne-a-year PEA estimates an after-tax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $3.20-billion and an IRR of 25%, with a payback period of 8.7 years. The PEA is preliminary and includes inferred resources. 

Capital Expenditure
The 2025 feasibility study estimates initial capital expenditure (capex) for the 4.1-million-tonne-a-year development at $1.24-billion.

The PEA estimates additional expansion capital for the 10.7-million-tonne-a-year scenario at $803-million. 
In its 2026 first quarter results, Ivanhoe reported Platreef Phase 2 capex of $67-million for the quarter. Full-year Phase 2 capital guidance remains $350-million to $380-million for 2026 and $380-million to $420-million for 2027. 

Planned Start/End Date
Phase 1 production started on November 18, 2025, and the Phase 1 concentrator is expected to ramp up to commercial production from mid-2026. 

The Phase 2 concentrator is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2027. Shaft 2 is expected to be ready to hoist labour and materials by the end of 2028 and ore by the end of 2029. 

The Phase 3 PEA envisages two additional concentrator modules in 2030 and 2032. 

Latest Developments
In its first quarter 2026 results published on May 8, Ivanhoe reported that the Phase 1 concentrator had milled 27 512 t of ore during the quarter, producing 1 428 oz of 3PE+Au. Since first production, about 2 400 oz of 3PE+Au have been produced. The company noted that early production used lower-grade development ore and was not representative of steady-state Phase 1 operations. 

Construction of Shaft 3 and its associated underground materials-handling and crushing infrastructure was completed on schedule in late March 2026 and is in the final stages of commissioning. The shaft’s winder licence was approved by the regulator on April 1, 2026, authorising commercial use. Ivanhoe expects Shaft 3 to remove the hoisting bottleneck and allow for the Phase 1 concentrator to be fed continuously with higher-grade ore from production mining. The first longhole stope blast took place in early April on the 850 m level. 

The Ivanplats team broke ground on the 3.3-million-tonne-a-year Phase 2 concentrator site on April 9, 2026. Major earthworks are under way, while engineering work is focused on process and mechanical design and equipment layouts. Procurement of long-lead mechanical and electrical equipment has started. 

Widening of Shaft 2 has also started. United Mining Services completed site mobilisation during the first quarter of 2026, and the first slipe blast took place on April 1, 2026. Shaft 2 is being widened from 3.1 m to 10 m using the slipe-and-line method. Once complete, it will support steady-state Phase 2 operations and the future Phase 3 expansion. 

Financial close of Platreef’s $700-million Phase 2 senior project finance facility was achieved on April 30, 2026. The facility amends and upsizes the Phase 1 facility and provides about $600-million in additional capital from a syndicate comprising Société Générale, Absa Bank and Nedbank. Financing for the future Phase 3 expansion is expected to be underpinned by cash flow from Phase 1 and Phase 2 operations. 

Ivanhoe has also reported that Japanese consortium shareholder ITC Platinum has committed to fund its proportionate share of the Phase 2 expansion. 

On May 12, financial services firm Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking reported that it had provided $700-million debt financing for Phase 2 of the Platreef mine.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
DRA Global (engineering, procurement and construction management contractor for the Phase 2 underground infrastructure and 3.3-million-tonne-a-year Phase 2 concentrator); United Mining Services (Shaft 2 slipe-and-line contract); and OreWin, Mine Technical Services, SRK Consulting, DRA Projects and Golder Associates Africa (Platreef Integrated Development Plan 2025). 

Contact Details for Project Information
Ivanhoe Mines, tel +27 11 088 4300 or email info@ivanhoemines.com.