During the 2024 financial year, Implats concluded a broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) transaction which resulted in an aggregate 13% B-BBEE ownership at Impala Platinum Limited (Impala), which owns the Impala Bafokeng operations, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Impala Bafokeng Resources Proprietary Limited (IBR).
Implats' shareholding decreased to 87% on conclusion of the B-BBEE transaction.
Implats secured control of RBPlat on 30 May 2023. The RBPlat shares were suspended from trading on the JSE on 2 August 2023. The compulsory acquisition of the remaining RBPlat shares occurred on 14 September 2023 and RBPlat was delisted from the JSE on 18 September 2023 and renamed Impala Bafokeng.
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Summary:
Impala Bafokeng lies immediately adjacent to Impala Rustenburg, exploiting the Merensky and UG2 Reefs within the Upper Critical Zone of the Rustenburg Layered Suite at its BRPM and Styldrift operations.
Approximately 2.04 billion years ago, the Bushveld Complex formed on the stable geological base created by the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons in southern Africa, alongside other extensive mafic and ultramafic layered intrusions.
West of Impala Bafokeng operations lies the Magaliesberg formation of the Transvaal Supergroup, estimated to be 2.5 billion years old, featuring primarily quartzite sedimentary layers, against which the BC stratigraphy horizons abut within the Regional variations in the geological characteristics of the Merensky and UG2 Reefs. The Rustenburg Layered Suite is divided into two regional facies, namely the Rustenburg facies to the south and the Swartklip facies to the north of the Pilanesberg Alkaline Complex. Structurally, the Impala Bafokeng operations are located between the Regional Rustenburg and Swartklip reef facies.
The transition of the Rustenburg facies to the Swartklip facies occurs on the Styldrift 90 JQ farm. This differentiation was established based on several factors, including the significantly reduced stratigraphic middling between the Merensky and UG2 Reefs, the mineralised envelope primarily associated with the Merensky Reef and the presence of olivine-bearing layers distinctive to the Swartklip facies. Impala Bafokeng facies are further subdivided per reef type into localised facies, which are based on unique lithological, geological, geochemical and mineralisation characteristics.
The critical zone hosts the platinum group element (PGE) bearing reef (the economically important layer) types of the Merensky reef and the Upper Group 2 reef (UG2).
Proximity of the basement (and possibly its paleotopography) to the Merensky and UG2, by and large influenced the geometry and succession of the local stratigraphy, which primarily resulted from local basement upliftment. Upliftment caused the folded or rolling nature of the stratigraphic geometries which are preserved as anticlines and synclines. The frequency of the rolling towards the west becomes narrower with steeper dips resulting in some of the stratigraphic units not developed. The implication of the folding and or rolling nature of the stratigraphy results in opposite dip directions (westerly and easterly) with wide ranges of dip-regimes that exist. The aforementioned is contrary to traditional narrow tabular Merensky and UG2 stratigraphy with recognized local changes in the planarity of the ore bodies, which are mostly related to the different fancies types.
The Merensky and UG2 reefs are both sulphide enriched with the Merensky reef being the main economic horizon mined at RBPlat. The PGMs (platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (RH), osmium (Os), ruthenium (Ru)) as well as gold (Au) are found mostly within the sulphide minerals and include varieties of copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) as accompanying base metals. The reef horizons dip towards the north-eastern direction between 50 and 120 . The steeper dips are in the north-eastern part of the Styldrift, with the shallower dips presents in the center and western of the farm.
The average depth of the Merensky reef is 505 metres below surface (mbs), with the advantage of being the Merensky reef dominant relatively mine. The newly operational Styldrift I shaft ore from a 50 dipping Merensky reef horizon at an average depth of 712mbs.
The Merensky reef across the operational area comprises six different geological facies types, from west to east, namely the Abutment, Terrace, Central, Normal, Normal Thick and Main reef facies. Merensky reef facies delineation of the Maseve ore body ties in with the regional at Merensky reef facies; Abutment facies (divided into shallow Abutment, deep Abutment and transition to Terrace facies) on the most western side and Terrace facies further east towards the Styldrift I shaft area. Each facies type exhibits unique geological, geochemical and mineralization characteristics which has a fundamental role in planning the optimized mining method. The predominant facies type at Maseve Mine is the Abutment facies, which is commonly associated with intrusions.
The vertical separation between the Merensky and the UG2 reefs varies from an average 80m at BRPM to 50m around the Styldrift I shaft area and decreases to an estimated minimum of 25m in the far north-eastern region of the mining area (Styldrift II). This is due the overall thinning of the critical zone of the Bushveld Complex, in a north-eastern direction towards the Pilanesberg Complex. The UG2 ore body has been classified and subdivided into three main facies types based on the occurrence of the position of the leader UG2 chromitite bands in the hangingwall of the dominant mineralized main chromitite band. These facies variations are encountered on apparent dip in a north- eastern direction, ranging from the Central high facies, Leader facies and General facies, from the shallowest to deepest portions of the mining area. The predominant facies types are the Leader and General facies, which account for 85% of the total ore body.