The mine is located on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex immediately south of the Pilanesberg Alkaline Intrusion and is underlain by the Merensky reef and Upper Group 2 Chromitite layer. The Bushveld Complex is the largest and most economically significant layered igneous complex in the world.

The Bushveld Complex consists of a layered sequence of igneous rocks known as the Rustenburg Layered Suite which was derived from differential crystallisation of multiple magma injections.

The Rustenburg Layered Suite (mafic rocks) can be divided into five zones known as the Marginal, Lower, Critical, Main and Upper Zones from the base upwards. The mafic-rich Critical Zone hosts the multiple Chromitite and platinum group metal layers. The dominant economic platinum group metal mineralisation, the Merensky reef and Upper Group 2 Chromitite layer occur within the multi-layered norite-pyroxenite-anorthosite-chromitite Upper Critical Zone and are continuous over tens of kilometres.

Merensky reef
Four facies or types of Merensky reef were identified at the mine with their rock type composition:
The Normal Merensky reef facies consist of a thin (2cm) pegmatoidal feldspathic pyroxenite occurs. The pegmatoidal feldspathic pyroxenite becomes more harzburgitic–troctolitic (olivine/ feldspar assemblage) towards the basal Chromitite. The basal Chromitite is underlain by a poikiolitic anorthosite which is typically barren. The upper Chromitite is ov ........

The BPM consists of a single underground operation accessed through a twin vertical shafts system as well as 6m diameter raise bore ventilation shafts for ventilation purposes. Planned mining operations include the extraction of both the Merensky and Upper Group 2 (“UG2”) Chromitite layer. The main shaft has a hoisting capacity of approximately 250 kilo tonnes per month (“ktpm”) of ore and 15ktpm waste. The mining operations will be based on a semi-mechanised hybrid mining method using conventional mining methods for stoping activities and mechanised methods for development and rock-handling.

Stoping was planned using hybrid breast mining methods i.e., mechanised cleaning with hand-held conventional drilling.

The main ore body access is facilitated through a vertical shaft system that comprises:
- An 8.5m diameter lined main shaft (depth 825m) equipped with men, material and rock handling facilities
- A 7.5m diameter lined service shaft for men and material (depth 825m).
These shafts were positioned within the constraints of the mining right area to effectively access each of the two reef horizons. The main shaft can hoist up to 250ktpm of ore and up to 15ktpm of waste during steady-state production.

The ore body is accessed with four station levels out of the main and ventilation shafts, namely 69L, 72L, 77L and 81L:
69L: The first station development located at a depth of approximately 690m below surface that includes ........

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The mine entered into a raw water supply agreement with Magalies Water on 19 June 2013. The agreement remains valid for the duration of the economic life of the operation. The outcome of the agreement was that Magalies Water would supply raw water to the mine, based on an estimated demand profile of approximately six megalitres per day from 2017 onwards.

A high-level water balance was developed for the BPM. According to the water balance (BPM, 2019), the total water requirement for the mine during full production is 11.8 megalitres per day. Of this, 10.2 megalitres per day will be consumed by underground operations and 1.65 megalitres per day will be consumed by surface infrastructure. Approximately 2.7 megalitres per day of make-up water is required from an external source. A water agreement with Magalies Water is currently in place for the provision of 2 190 megalitres per annum, with an estimated maximum seven-day design requirement of 52.5 megalitres. The daily provision from 2017 onwards is 6 megalitres per day. The potable water is stored in four, 3 megalitre capacity holding tanks, situated to the north of the shaft area (Mechanical Design Calculations-Water Balances, 2019).

The remaining 8.7 megalitres per day will be recovered from recycling processes in various operations from the refrigeration plant, sewerage treatment plant and underground operations. During the discussion with on-site personnel, it was stated that the sewer treatment works cannot be operated currently as the minimum treatment capacity is higher than the current sewerage load. The water balance must be updated to accommodate this change and should be calibrated with flow meter data once the TSF is operational.