Timing - Zimplats. Development started in 1994. Initiated 2.0Mt...

Timing - Zimplats.

Development started in 1994. Initiated 2.0Mt concentrator construction in Oct 1996, first production Oct 1997. Lots of faffing around after that. Refinery etc.

In 1986 Delta Gold Limited (Delta) acquired rights to its first platinum resources on the Great Dyke. By 1998 it had extended its cover to include interests in all the platinum resources of the Hartley Complex. Delta brought BHP into a joint venture (2/3 BHP and 1/3 Delta) to develop Hartley Platinum Mine and development started in 1994. In 1998, Delta demerged its platinum interests into a special purpose vehicle; Zimplats.

By 1999 Hartley had failed to meet its development targets and was put on care and maintenance by BHP. Zimplats subsequently took over BHP’s share of Hartley and in 2001 it initiated the Ngezi/SMC project with the assistance of an Implats and ABSA Investment. A 2.2 million tonne per year open pit mine was established at Ngezi and ore was trucked to Selous where it was processed in the Hartley Mine concentrator and smelting facilities, the SMC. The first converter matte was exported in April 2002.

Jun 3, 1999 – BHP faces a loss of nearly $700 million on its Hartley platinum investment, after new chief executive Mr Paul Anderson continued his hectic revamp of the resources giant by selling the African venture for less than $US3 million ($4.7 million).

Under the terms of the Hartley joint venture, BHP acted as operator and funded the US$290 million initial capital cost of the project, along with the working capital requirement. The concentrator was commissioned in October 1996, followed by the base metals refinery in June 1997. The first platinum group metal concentrate was shipped for toll refining in the UK in October 1997. However, mine output reached only about one third of the planned 180,000 t/month of ore, and the working capital requirement had risen to US$143 million by this time last year (MJ, May 29, 1998, p.423). Zimplats elected not to pay for its share of development costs (and would thus have been entitled to receive only 9.9% of any positive cash flow).