Itochu, JOGMEC invest to support expansion of South African platinum mine
Itochu and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security increased their investment in a Japanese consortium that holds a stake in South Africa’s Platreef platinum group metals mine to support its expansion, they said on Monday.
JOGMEC invested $89.4 million in ITC Platinum Development, a consortium owned by Itochu, JOGMEC and JGC Holdings, which holds 8% stake in the Platreef mine. Itochu separately owns a 2% stake in the mine.
In 2011, JOGMEC invested about 4.2 billion yen ($26.3 million) in IPTD at Itochu’s request. With funding needs rising as phase 2 development gathers pace, JOGMEC decided to make an additional investment, it said.
Itochu did not disclose the amount of the new investment, but a company spokesperson said total capital expenditure for phase 2 is $1.2 billion.
The Platreef project is 64% owned by Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines and 26% by B-BBEE Partner. It started producing concentrates containing platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, gold and copper last November.
Phase 2 development is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Ore processing capacity is expected to rise to 4.1 million metric tons a year from 0.8 million tons after phase 2. A phase 3 expansion planned for 2032 would lift capacity to 10.7 million tons.
Platinum group metals, nickel, gold and copper from the mine are essential materials for various industries. Itochu holds pro-rata offtake rights from the project and aims to help ensure a stable supply of critical metals to Japan.
($1 = 159.5700 yen)
(By Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
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