[miningmx.com] – THE Smokey Hills platinum mine, formerly owned by Platinum Australia, is to be restarted by African Thunder Platinum, said BDLive. The mine had steady-state production of up to 64,000 ounces of platinum group metals.
African Thunder is owned by Canada’s Aberdeen International and Pala Investments and will also attract investment by Macquarie Bank. Pala’s MD, Mike Brown, was formerly the chief operating officer at De Beers.
The Smokey Hills mine was stopped after violent strikes in which at least one person was alleged to have been stoned to death by angry workers. Platinum Australia stopped trade in its shares in mid-2012 and analysts at the time said the mine had failed to deliver production consistency, said BDLive.
First production is expected in 2016, the publication said.
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