Platinum Group of Metals

Platinum is one of earth’s rarest metals. It belongs to a group of metals known as Platinum Group of metals (PGMs), which consists of six elements – platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, gold; and is associated with the following base metals, nickel, copper and cobalt.

Platinum, palladium and rhodium, the most economically significant of the PGMs, are found in the largest quantities. The remaining PGMs are produced as co-products.

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Mineral Resources and Reserves

Mimosa is an on-going mining operation that comprises three ore bodies, namely North Hill, South Hill and Far South Hill. The three ore bodies have been explored, drilled, evaluated and converted to the various Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves categories in accordance with best practice for the reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. A mineralized body; the Mtshingwe Fault Block, also occurs as a prospect between the South Hill and Far South Hill orebodies.

The main rock types are gabbroic rocks overlying an ultramafic unit of repetitive cycles of pyroxenite, dunite and chromitite rocks. Economic minerals comprising platinum group metals and base metals are formed within the Main Sulphide Zone (MSZ) which is located in pyroxenite, some 5m to 20m below gabbroic rocks. Platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium along with gold, copper, cobalt and nickel occur in economic quantities within the MSZ. The layered units are basin shaped with layers shallowly dipping towards the axis of the basin flattening at the bottom.

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Metal Usage

Many of the unique physical and chemical characteristics of PGMs make them indispensable to modern technology and industry, and their markets are many and varied, from the automotive industry to the medical field.

Their catalytic properties – particularly those of Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium – make them ideally suited to many applications aimed at countering the effects of air pollution and limiting the production of greenhouse gases. Another distinctive characteristic of PGMs is that they are recyclable.

Platinum has also found good use in jewellery and due to its high degree of purity it does not fade or tarnish while its strength and density provides a good setting for precious stones. Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium have a multitude of uses in fertilizer making and in the petroleum industry. Palladium is also widely used in the electronics industry while PGMs combine to make alloys of exceptional hardness and quality.

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Our Processes

Our mining method is Room and Pillar, using mechanized drilling and lashing techniques. The blasted ore is lashed by load haul and dump machines (LHD) and tipped onto 400mm apertures. We employ a sustainable approach to ore processing and forge a partnership of base metal and precious metal refinement.