Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Underground |
Commodities |
- Platinum
- Palladium
- Rhodium
- Copper
- Nickel
- Gold
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ... |
Mine Life | 2044 |
The Mimosa operation comprises a shallow underground mine, accessed by two decline and one small vertical shafts, and a concentrator.
The US$130 million North Hill project will extend Mimosa’s life-of-mine by circa 10 years to FY2044. The feasibility study was completed and a memorandum of understanding to support project execution is under discussion with the Zimbabwean government. The project will increase life-of-mine at the current production platform and sustain 227,000 tonnes per month into the existing processing plant. Steady-state production from North Hill is forecast for FY2034. |
Source:
p. 37
In July 2001, Implats acquired 35% in Mimosa, increasing this stake to 50% the following year, with Aquarius acquiring the remaining 50% in Mimosa in the same year. In 2016, Sibanye- Stillwater acquired all the shares which formerly belonged to Aquarius. Mimosa is managed by Mimosa Investments Limited, a Mauritiusbased company, held by Implats and Sibanye-Stillwater, and is a non-managed operation in the Implats portfolio.
Contractors
- Subscription is required.
Summary:
PGM mineralisation at Mimosa is located in four isolated and fault-bounded blocks - from north to south they are the North Hill, South Hill, Mtshingwe Fault Block and Far South Hill mineralised bodies.
Each block is host to a pyroxenite layer known as the P1 pyroxenite layer, overlain by a gabbro layer. The platinum-bearing Main Sulphide Zone (MSZ) is located in the P1 pyroxenite, some 10m below the ultramafic/mafic contact. The MSZ is a continuous layer, 2m to 6m thick, and forms an elongated basin. The mineralised zone strikes in a north-northeasterly trend and dips at about 14° on the margins, flattening towards the central part of the orebody. The MSZ at Mimosa has a well-defined grade profile where peak base metal and PGM values are offset vertically, with palladium dominant towards the base, platinum in the centre and nickel towards the top. The MSZ is visually identified using pyroxene and sulphide mineralisation. Minor faults and dykes are present and although no potholes have been identified, low- grade areas and areas of no mineralisation, or ‘washout channels’, have been intersected.
Summary:
Mimosa is a shallow underground mine, accessed by two declines, the Wedza Decline and Blore Shaft. A mechanised bord and pillar mining method is used to extract ore over an average stoping width of 2.1m. Historically, the bord widths have varied from 15m to 6m, depending on the ground control district. Minimum pillar sizes are dependent on depth to give a safety factor greater than 1.6. Current mining consists of 5.5m to 7m bord sizes with 8m by 4m pillars for the entire mine.
The mining cycle involves mechanised support drilling and installation, MSZ channel definition and marking, mechanised face drilling, charging and blasting, followed by mechanised lashing onto a conveyor network which feeds an underground bunker. The ore is then conveyed to a surface stockpile ahead of feeding into the processing plant. Optimum stoping widths and mining cut selection are regularly reviewed. The currently planned mining horizon is a 2.1m slice defined by the hangingwall at 0.60m above, and the footwall at 1.5m below the platinum peak. This overbreaks to an average actual mining width of 2.14m.
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
- subscription is required.
Source:
- subscription is required.
Reserves at June 30, 2023:
Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
Platinum
|
|
3.3 M oz
|
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
Palladium
|
|
2.6 M oz
|
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.12 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.14 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
4E (Pt, Pd, Rh, Au)
|
3.45 g/t
|
6.7 M oz
|
Proven & Probable
|
60.7 Mt
|
6E (Pt,Pd,Rh,Au,Ir,Ru)
|
3.66 g/t
|
7.2 M oz
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
Platinum
|
|
6.9 M oz
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
Palladium
|
|
5.3 M oz
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.12 %
|
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.15 %
|
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
4E (Pt, Pd, Rh, Au)
|
3.49 g/t
|
14 M oz
|
Total Resource
|
124.6 Mt
|
6E (Pt,Pd,Rh,Au,Ir,Ru)
|
3.71 g/t
|
14.9 M oz
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
- Subscription is required.
- Subscription is required.