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UG2 The Ugly Duckling

UG2 The Ugly Duckling. Caroline Dunne. MMMA President's Technical Seminar 20 May 2011. A Brief History. South Africa is the world's largest producer of PGMs PGMs mined in the Bushveld Igneous Complex Deposit formed 2,000 million years ago

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UG2 The Ugly Duckling

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  1. UG2 The Ugly Duckling Caroline Dunne MMMA President's Technical Seminar 20 May 2011

  2. A Brief History • South Africa is the world's largest producer of PGMs • PGMs mined in the Bushveld Igneous Complex • Deposit formed 2,000 million years ago • Spans an areal extent of some 450km by 300km • PGMs found in three distinct reefs • Merensky Reef, first opened in 1925 • Upper Group 2 (UG2) Reef, mining began in 1970s • Platreef

  3. About the Reefs • Merensky and UG2 reefs in close proximity to each other • UG2 lies 20 - 400 m below the Merensky horizon • Platreef a distinct ore body • Typically • Ores are quite different from each other • Require different metallurgical processing routes

  4. Succession Exploited Horizons

  5. Reef Types UG2 Chromititelayer Merensky Reef

  6. The UG2 Reef • Little variation in UG2 reef thickness, 60 - 75 cm thick • Reef is essentially a chromitite seam • PGMs have a bimodal distribution, with elevated values towards the top and bottom contacts • UG2 PGM+Au reserves approximately 2 x Merensky

  7. The UG2 Mining Environment

  8. The “Rolls Royce” Ore Body…. • Merensky ore contains more sulphide • PGM + Au recoveries around 87-90% • Minerals are found in a silicate substrate • Cr2O3 content less than 0.5% • Average PGM grain size is about 45 µm • Milling to around 55-60% -75 µm required to liberate • Simple MF1 processing route • Up to 3% base-metal sulphide minerals • Cu & Ni present with Ni:Cu fairly constant at about 1.7

  9. The Ug(2)ly Duckling…. • Lower sulphide content • PGM + Au recoveries around 78-83% • Minerals are found in a chromite substrate • Cr2O3 content of UG2 ore is about 30% • Average PGM grain size 15 µm in UG2 • Milling to around 80% -75 µm required to liberate • More complex MF2 processing route • Cu & Ni content generally < 1/10th of Merensky Reef

  10. The “Not so Ug(2)ly” Duckling…. • Mining • Significant UG2 ore reserves remain • Use existing Merensky infrastructure to mine • Lower capex and opex costs • Higher density of 4.0 g/t vs 3.2 g/t for Merensky • Higher in situ grades

  11. The “Not so Ug(2)ly” Duckling…. • Processing • More friable • Need less talc depression • Lower concentrate volumes produced • Tier 1 smelters have learned to deal with chrome • The reality is, industry has significant capacity • Bath temperatures are higher • Lower overall treatment cost

  12. The “Not so Ug(2)ly” Duckling…. • Revenue • Pt content not that bad • Average PGM + Au head grade +10% than Merensky • Pt, Pd + Rh = 90% of the value of metals produced • Pd and Rh coming into their own • By-product revenue of chrome concentrate significant

  13. Not too shabby for an ugly duckling…….

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