Name and Location
Impala No 20 Shaft project, North West, South Africa.

Client
Impala Platinum.

Project Description
The project involves sinking a cluster of four declines to service ten working levels. Two vertical shafts provide access to surface, intersecting the declines about midway. The decline package is situated between the Merensky and upper group two reef planes, allowing access across ramps to the reef planes and the footwall-strike drives. Conventional track-bound transport in the footwall-strike drives will be used to supply materials to and transfer ore from the workings to ore-passes at each decline station area. A conveyor system will convey the rock to the main shaft for hoisting to the surface.

There will be three stations on the main shaft. A decline system, attached to the vertical shaft below the Merensky reef plane, will facilitate the transportation of material and personnel. The main shaft is equipped with rock, worker and service conveyances to a depth of 1 050 m. A single station at 897 m below the surface will be used to access the upper two declines. One will house a chairlift and the other a twin-track electric monorail transport system. The lower two declines will be accessed from the main shaft station at 937 m below the surface – one will be an airway decline and the other will be equipped with a conveyor belt to transfer ore from the declines to the main shaft.

The main shaft measures 8.5 m in diameter and is 1 051 m deep, enabling the hoisting of about 240 000 t/m of ore and waste. The ventilation shaft, which is 6.5 m in diameter and 1 020 m deep, is designed to move about 650 kg/s of refrigerated air through the workings.

Value
R6.8-billion.

Duration
Ramp-up to full production of 143 000 t/m of platinum ore is under way.

Latest Developments
Impala No 20 Shaft has started production and is expected to produce 26 000 oz of platinum in the2013 financial year, building to steady-state throughput of 125 000 oz in the 2018 financial year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Consultants and companies that were involved at No 20 Shaft included: TWP Consulting (engineering, procurement and construction management), Murray & Roberts Cementation (shaft sinking and development contract), Bluhm Burton Engineering (refrigeration plant), Wade Walker (electrical Phase 3 - electrical installation of compressor house, ventilation fans substation and surface conveyor), ABB (electrical equipment), DSE Structural Engineers & Contractors, Grinaker-LTA, AA Containers, African Cables, Alexander Forbes, Alstom Industry, B&C Agencies, Bellambie Mining & Industrial, DCS, Desta Power Matla, Deton Engineering, Dynamic Crane Systems, Fabricated Steel Manufacturers, FFE Minerals - Vecor, Fixtrade 1092, G&L Fencing, Haggie Steel Wire Rope, Itasca Africa, JIC Mining Services, K&S Electrical Automation, Kimberley Engineering Works, Letab Projects, Magnitech, Marqott Power Industries, MTEC, Octa Engineering, PDS Technologies, Rapha Pretorius Associates, Relay Settings, RUCO Engineering, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Steelcor, Test-a-Relay, Transformer Manufacturer, Trident SA, Trucking & Engineering, Ubuntu Technologies, Walter Becker, Weir Envirotech, Willard Batteries, WJ Engineering, SMT Scharf (Africa), Sareco and Steel Services.

On Budget and on Time?
Production ramp-up was delayed by 12 months in June 2011 and is scheduled to start in 2013.

Contact Details for Project Information
Impala No 20 Shaft GM Han Fourie, cell +27 82 802 0704; or Impala No 20 Shaft project manager Hans Dodds, cell +27 82 805 5746.
Byrnecut Mining, tel +61 8 9270 1000 or fax +61 8 9270 1001.
Triple M Mining, tel +27 14 534 0914/5/6, fax +27 14 534 0913 or email info@triplemmining.co.za.
Platchro (operations), JL Becker, cell +27 83 231 7606 or email
johanb@platchromining.co.za; PJ Jordaan, cell +27 82 308 1009 or email jorrie2@wmeb.co.za.