AFRICA SPECIAL — Zimbabwean platinum expands BHP portfolio

By developing the Hartley platinum project in Zimbabwe, BHP Minerals is paving the way for its entry into a new metal market.

The company, a division of Australian-based Broken Hill Proprietary, holds a 67% interest in the project. The remainder is held by Delta Gold.

Total resources stand at 168 million tonnes grading 4.8 grams of platinum group metals (PGM), which, at current prices, is sufficient to support a mine life of 20 years.

Proven and probable reserves stand at 50.9 million tonnes grading 4.6 grams PGM per tonne (including 2.6 grams platinum, 1.8 grams palladium and 0.2 gram rhodium per tonne). Also present are economic quantities of gold (0.5 gram per tonne), nickel (0.2%) and copper (0.1%).

Delta first acquired prospecting rights to the property in 1986, eventually controlling 63 sq. km. In 1990, BHP entered into a joint venture for two-thirds of the project, and, in 1993, a feasibillity study determined the planned mine was economic. The joint venture was granted a special 25-year mining lease in 1994.

Plans call for an initial underground operation capable of processing 90,000 tonnes per month, increasing to 180,000 tonnes by September 1998. Startup is scheduled for mid-1997.

Annual output is projected at 150,000 oz. platinum, 110,000 oz. palladium, 11,500 oz. rhodium and 23,000 oz. gold.

The deposit forms part of the Hartley Complex, a 100-by-10-km area within the Great Dyke, a prominent geological feature running north-south across the central part of the African nation.

The metals are confined to the Main Sulphide zone, which varies from 1 to 2 metres in thickness and has a consistent grade over more than 300 sq. km.

BHP intends to sell the PGM to the auto industry, probably under long-term contract to reduce volatility. The gold will be sold to the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank; and the copper and nickel cathodes, to local or foreign consumers.

The project is said to be the largest single investment project in Zimbabwe since the country gained its independence in 1980. The capital cost of developing the 2.2-million-tonne-per-year operation is estimated at US$264 million.

The mine will employ 2,700 people, representing 7% of those employed in Zimbabwe’s mining industry.

Many of the employees will initially come from outside of the area, as Zimbabwe has a shortage of skilled mine personnel. Most, however, will be recruited from the nearby towns of Chegutu and Norton.