Name of the Project
Zondereinde Western Extension project.

Location
Northern portion of the western limb of the Bushveld Complex near Thabazimbi, in Limpopo, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Northam Platinum Holdings Limited.

Project Description
The Zondereinde mine is an established, conventional, long-life operation that mines upper group two (UG2) and Merensky reef ore and produces about 300 000 oz/y of refined platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, or 4E, platinum-group metals from its own operations.

In early 2018, Northam acquired a portion of the Amandelbult mining right – the Western Extension – from Anglo American Platinum.

The Western Extension is a rich resource block containing 21-million ounces of PGMs within the high-grade Merensky and UG2 orebodies of the Bushveld Complex.

The extension provides Zondereinde with immediate access to an additional 3.6 km of mineable strike to the west of its existing underground operations and access to additional Merensky and UG2 resources, extending Zondereinde's life-of-mine to more than 30 years.

The extension will increase Zondereinde’s production to 350 000 oz/y of 4E by 2026.

Northam has recently developed, and is equipping, a vertical shaft (No 3 shaft) to access the Western Extension.

Once fully operational, the No 3 shaft will be able to carry 126 people at 12 m/s using a three-deck cage and counterweight configuration. The rock shaft will be able to hoist as much as 115 000 t a month using 14 t skips in a skip-skip configuration. The ventilation shaft will be able to exhaust 400 kg a second of air.

The No 3 personnel and materials shaft and rock shafts will reach production levels three and four, while a third decline will allow for material distribution from the No 3 shaft to the respective production levels.

The No 3 shaft underground decline cluster of operations will comprise a chairlift decline and piped mining services, a rock decline equipped with a double-drum winder consisting of two 12 t skips, and a material decline equipped with a single drum winder and gondola.

Mining activity from the existing workings of the Zondereinde mine will gradually transition into the Western Extension block. The new shaft will also facilitate the supply of services, including backfill, chilled service water and ventilation, to the underground workings. This will alleviate the distance challenges from the existing Zondereinde shafts. 

Potential Job Creation
The project will create employment for an additional 600 people.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
R4.7-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The project started construction started in early 2019 and is scheduled to reach steady-state production in 2023.

Latest Developments
Mine ventilation, refrigeration and cooling systems company BBE Projects is responsible for a turnkey design and construction project for a refrigeration plant and fan station at the Zondereinde No 3 Shaft project. 

The No 3 Shaft barrel development at a depth of 1 380 m has been completed, which will be equipped for personnel and materials handling, while another two shafts, still under construction, will handle ore and ventilation for the mine.

BBE director Andrew Branch explains the company was appointed to design and build the large surface refrigeration plant to chill service water and provide air cooling for the underground works, as well as an upcast fan station on the ventilation hole. 

The three-year project will result in BBE’s installing ten refrigeration machines into the surface refrigeration plant, which will ultimately have up to 70 MW of cooling capacity.  

The company broke ground in October 2022, starting with civil works for the major structures of the plant. This first phase of the project will be completed by November 2024, with work on the 12-month construction of the fan station set to start in mid-2023. The second phase of the project will result in additional work on the refrigeration plant, with final commissioning slated for mid-2026. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Master Drilling (drilling contractor); and BBE (design and build of refrigeration plant) .

Contact Details for Project Information
Northam Platinum, tel +27 11 759 6000.
R&A Strategic Communications, on behalf of Northam Platinum, tel +27 11 880 3924 or email marion@rasc.co.za.