The first potential underground mining at Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGMs) mine in Limpopo is targeted to start towards the end of 2024 and build up slowly to a full underground unit by the end of the decade.

“We’re nearing the end of phase one of the decline development, which will start to give us the access to the underground drilling,” Anglo Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen disclosed in response to Mining Weekly during the company's latest investor day media call.

The aim of the development of the two exploration declines, now under way, is to gain access to the underground orebody faster, as well as supplement surface drilling with underground drilling.

“If everything goes according to plan, and pending the conversion of the current exploration decline permits to mining permits, and the completion of the mining feasibility studies, we’re targeting to start the first potential underground mining towards the end of 2024 and slowly building that up to a full underground unit by the end of the decade,” said Viljoen, with the underground life-of-mine (LoM) continuing as part of the 100-year life-of-asset.

“At the moment, we see that the openpit runs into 2045 and we’ll see the transition to underground by the end of the decade,” Viljoen added.

Investment decisions are being carefully sequenced, with the most value accretive options including continuing with Mogalakwena’s current opencast configuration while fast-tracking underground development through twin exploration declines to enable faster underground drilling to understand the orebody better, building the third concentrator and successfully relocating communities.

Regarding capital expenditure (capex), Anglo Platinum FD Craig Miller said the company would step up to R2.5-billion in 2023 on the exploration decline itself.

He put the capital estimate for the third concentrator in the range of $1-billion to $1.5-billion.

The earliest the third concentrator would be needed is in 2026 and the latest 2028, with approvals commencing in 18 to 24 months’ time.

Targeted is a 12-million-tonne-a-year concentrator of simpler design, the level of tonnage implying possible closure of the south concentrator. A coarse particle recovery plant being commissioned should improve recoveries of the third concentrator.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Meanwhile, climate change is delivering production blows and creating new risks for the JSE-listed company to mitigate and manage, said Viljoen.

As part of climate resilience and water management at Mogalakwena, Anglo Platinum has doubled its pumping capacity, learning from its experience in January and setting the operation up to better respond to downpours.

Activities to reduce carbon emissions at the mine and along the operational value chain are being advanced. Renewable energy and green hydrogen mobility are also being brought in to lower carbon footprints.

Despite recent rainfall events still having impact, Mogalakwena is viewed as now being far better set up for high rainfall events as mining operations across all five continents shield themselves increasingly from profound climate disruptions in what is seen as a rapidly changing world.

Capital reinvestment in processing assets at Mogalakwena is creating the opportunity to learn what the future of project execution will look like in the current environment.

Learnings include how the disrupted supply chain is navigated, which continues to be impacted.

“I think it is starting to set us up for this new world and how we respond to the energy transition, and the competition that we will see for human and capital resources in a highly capital-intensive environment,” said Viljoen.

These issues were evident during the full rebuild of Anglo Platinum’s Polokwane smelter, which began in the third quarter of this year and was set back by the delivery of sub-standard refractory materials and companies involved in furnace rebuilds for Anglo Platinum over a decade-and-a-half going into bu...