Name and Location
Styldrift I expansion project, North West, South Africa.

Client
Royal Bafokeng Platinum, or RBPlat, (67%) and Anglo American Platinum (33%).

Project Description
The Styldrift project area is located about 5.5 km from the existing Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM).

The project will exploit one of the last major Merensky mining blocks on the Western Bushveld.

Styldrift I will deliver an underground operation, which will be accessed through a twin vertical shaft system, with the main shaft being sunk to 758 m and the services shaft to 723 m.

The configuration of the main shaft will allow for a single-deck personnel-and-material cage compartment that can transport 185 people; a cage counterweight compartment; two Merensky reef skip compartments, each designed to accommodate a 22 t skip; and two future skip compartments, each accommodating a 13 t skip. The services shaft will comprise a personnel-and-equipment cage compartment that can transport 22 people, and a cage counterweight compartment.

Four winders will be used during the project construction phase and three during the production phase.

The height of the main shaft headgear is 58.6 m and the service shaft 41.3 m. Concentrator capacity will be 2.76-million tonnes a year.

The mine will process 230 000 t/m of Merensky reef and 20 000 t/m of waste at steady state.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
The project is estimated at R11.01-billion.

Duration
Steady-state production is expected in the first quarter of 2020.

Latest Developments
In August 2015, the RBPlat board implemented a strategic decision to materially reduce construction activities and the related capital expenditure on the Styldrift I project. The material reduction in platinum group metals (PGMs) prices during the first half of the year and the view that the PGM market was likely to remain depressed in the medium term influenced this decision.

Mining and infrastructure allowed to progress included the completion of the metallurgical circuit upgrade of BRPM’s 250 000 t/m concentrator; on-reef lateral development on 600 level to establish workshops; preparatory activities to support development and raise-boring on 642 and 708 levels to establish rock- and water-handling infrastructure; the construction of a second silo and advanced work to facilitate the start of equipping the services shaft in the third quarter of this year.

Capital totaling R185-million was spent in the quarter ended March 31, 2016, bringing the capital expenditure (capex) at Styldrift to R5.66-billion to date. Total capex for the project remains at R1-billion for 2016.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
WorleyParsons (main project engineering, procurement and construction management contractor); Anglo Technical Division (mine shaft design); Mining & Engineering Technical Services, or Mets (services shaft headgears); Shaft Sinkers (main and services shafts and associated works until January 2015, when RBPlat terminated its contract); Louwill Engineering (main and services shafts headgears and winder house structural manufacturing and erection); FLSmidth Minerals (main shaft personnel and material winder mechanical portion); Actom – formerly Alstom Industry (main shaft personnel-and-material winder –electrical portion); Coilmech (service winder – mechanical and electrical portions); Stefanutti Stocks Civils Wramatshe joint venture (civils Phase 2 contract – main bulk surface civils); Sarens (cranes); and Sandvik Mining (underground production trackless equipment).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has been deferred by 12 months. Project expenditure for the year ended December 31, 2015, was R1.66-billion, which brought the current cumulative expenditure on the project to R5.48-million.

Contact Details for Project Information
RBPlat executive: corporate affairs Mpueleng Pooe, tel +27 10 590 4515 or email mpueleng@bafokengplatinum.co.za; or investor relations manager Lindiwe Montshiwagae, tel +27 10 590 4510 or email lindiwe@bafokengplatinum.co.za.
WorleyParsons, tel +27 11 218 3000.
Mets, tel +61 8 9421 9000 or fax +61 8 9325 8311.
Louwill Engineering, tel +27 11 818 5186, fax +27 11 818 5185 or email mail@louwill.co.za.
FLSmidth Minerals, tel +45 36 18 10 00, fax +45 36 44 11 46 or email info@flsmidth.com.
Actom, tel +27 11 820 5111 or fax +27 11 820 5100.
Coilmech, tel +27 11 452 4063, fax +27 11 452 6104 or email info@coilmech.co.za.
Stefanutti Stocks, tel +27 11 571 4300, fax +27 11 571 4370 or email holdings@stefstocks.com.
Sarens, tel +27 11 861 3800,fax +27 11 861 3899 or email info@sarenssa.co.za.
Sandvik Mining EMEA business development manager Bjorn Gohre, tel +27 11 570 9676.