EASTERN Platinum (Eastplats) said it delivered 64 tons of platinum group metal (PGM) concentrate to Impala Platinum following the commissioning of plant at its Crocodile River Mine which specialises in the retreatment of previously mined PGM resources.
The plant, which treats ‘re-mined’ PGM tailings, has a capacity of some 200 tons of PGM concentrate a month. However, a second phase is planned in which capacity of the plant will be increased to 800 tons a month of PGM concentrate.
Work on the upgrade will begin in May, the company said in an update today in which it also announced the appointment of Wylie Hui as the firm’s new CFO. Hui replaces Rowland Wallenius who was leaving in order to pursue “opportunities”.
The upgrade will be completed in October, said Eastplats.
Eastplats also processes tailings at Zandfontein UG2 tailings facility from which it extracts chrome concentrate.
For the year to end-December 2020, the company reported a net loss of $8m, partly owing to a foreign exchange loss and the settlement of a long-standing dispute with a partner over an outstanding payment, said BusinessLive in a recent article.
Revenue increased 43% to $56m during the period. The availability of the retreatment project as a 24-hour continuous operation, including planned maintenance, has improved in 2020 to 86% up from 76% in 2019, said BusinessLive citing the company.
