[miningmx.com] – THE beneficiation of Zimbabwe’s platinum group metal (PGM) industry had to be phased in incrementally, said Impala Platinum (Implats) which owns 87% in the southern African country’s platinum producer, Zimplats.
Johan Theron, spokesman for Implats, said there were no short-term plans to build a PGM furnace or complete a second stage expansion of Zimplats’ base metals refinery.
However, the group would consider these options once it had completed a concept study. The study would look at technical and commercial factors such as whether third party production or only concentrate from Zimplats would be beneficiated.
Alex Mhembere, CEO of Zimplats, was quoted on July 30 as saying that the company had set aside $500m for the second phase expansion of a base metals refinery and a PGM furnace which would produce high quality platinum concentrate.
This was in addition to some $180m in investment that had been approved in which Zimplats’ base metals refinery would be re-opened allowing for production of copper and nickel, as well as an $80m acid plant abatement project aimed at lifting environmental standards at Zimplats’ facilities.
“Expenditure on the sulphuric asset plant would be over the next three years and has long been in our capital guidance plans,” said Theron.
“What’s new is the approval for the old Hartley base metals refinery to be re-opened which would be recommissioned, also over three years,’ he said.
“This would be funded from Zimplats’ internal cash flows because the company is cash generative. It has also got its own [debt] facilities in place so it’s able to finance its medium-term capex by itself.”
“It is a significant step forward in terms of local beneficiation in Zimbabwe, but the whole beneficiation strategy has to be an incremental process. We need optionality over the next step,’ he said.
“There might be an expansion of the smelter, but that is in the early stages of conceptual and engineering design. We have plotted scenarios, but there is still a lot that needs to be done,’ said Theron.
A platinum furnace representing $500m worth of investment would be able to handle three quarters of Zimplats’ output. Zimplats produces about 270,000 ounces of platinum a year.
Zimplats currrently produces a platinum “matte’ from its facilities which is exported to South Africa where it is refined and base metals are smelted.
Once the refinery is reopened, however, Zimplats will have the ability to produce base metals and a PGM concentrate that is a reside out of base metals refinery.
Building a PGM furnace in Zimbabwe would further enable the company to produce a high grade, purified PGM concentrate, Theron said.
