Ivanhoe Mines’ crews have accessed the high-grade Flatreef orebody for the first time as part of the Platreef mine’s underground development, more than three decades after Ivanplats, an Ivanhoe Mines subsidiary, obtained the initial exploration licence.
The Platreef mine is located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. It contains copper, gold, nickel, palladium, platinum and rhodium resources hosted within a 30km mineralised sequence.
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The mine is expected to become the world’s leading polymetallic mining complex with a 35-year mine life based on current indicated mineral resources, according to the company.
The breakthrough by Ivanhoe’s crews comes 15 years after the discovery of the 26m-thick, flat-lying Flatreef orebody.
The development of the orebody is progressing towards commercial production later this year.
The company has completed 5.5km of underground tunnels across three levels, with the first blast of high-grade ore occurring on 7 May 2025.
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By GlobalDataMining crews entered the Flatreef orebody on the 850m level, with further development on the 750m and 950m levels expected soon.
The extracted ore will be stored on the surface ahead of processing in the phase one concentrator in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
The construction of shaft two, which is claimed to be Africa’s largest hoisting shaft, is also progressing. The shaft will enhance the mine’s hoisting capacity to more than 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
The construction of the shaft one production changeover at the Platreef mine was completed in May 2022.
Ivanhoe Mines founder and executive co-chairman Robert Friedland said: “Contrary to predictions that the Platreef Mine might not be built, the mine is now a reality… This colossal mine will grow in rapidly phased expansions, positioning the Platreef Mine as one of the lowest-cost, if not the lowest-cost, and largest primary producers of platinum group metals on our planet.
“With a globally significant precious metals endowment exceeding 50 million ounces of gold-equivalent, Platreef is the world-leading polymetallic mine in development. The discovery remains open in many directions, with vast additional untapped opportunities… despite already having proven an astounding mineral inventory containing two billion tonnes of the world’s richest platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, copper and gold system.”
The Platreef project is owned and operated by Ivanhoe Mines, which indirectly holds a 64% interest in the project through its subsidiary, Ivanplats.
A Japanese consortium led by ITOCHU and ITC Platinum Development holds a 10% stake in the project.
A 26% interest in the project was also allocated to a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment vehicle to comply with South Africa’s mining regulations and meet the requirements of the company’s Mining Right application.
