You are viewing the World Edition
Choose the news you want to read
View the site in World Edition, UK News Edition
Canadian News Edition or Australian News Edition
Listen to Minesite Forum Webcasts with synchronised PowerPoint slides.
Company Information for Eastern Platinum Ltd
Company stock charts - 12 Month chart
 TSX; ELR
View full financial data | AIM; ELR
View full financial data |
| JSE; EPS
View full financial data |
Company Statement
Eastern Platinum Limited (TSX & AIM: ELR; JSE: EPS) is Canada's leading platinum group metals producer. Eastplats is currently engaged in the acquisition, development and mining of platinum group metal deposits in South Africa. Eastplats, South Africa's sixth largest platinum group metals producer has assets on both the western and eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex which holds 80% of the world’s platinum supply.
In 2006, Eastplats became Canada's largest platinum group metals producer when it acquired a 69% indirect interest in Barplats Investments Limited. This acquisition was accompanied by a successful Cdn $150 million capital raising campaign, much of which has been invested in the Crocodile River Mine operations.
Eastplats is now an established and growing platinum group metals mining company with assets on both the western and eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Based in Vancouver, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:ELR), the Alternative Investment Market (AIM:ELR) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE:EPS), the company's four primary assets are:
* The Crocodile River Mine on the western limb of the Bushveld and;
* The Kennedy's Vale project located on the eastern limb of the Bushveld.
* The Spitzkop project adjacent to Kennedy's Vale
* The Mareesburg project, close to Spitzkop and Kennedy's Vale
In May 2007 Eastplats acquired an additional 5% of Barplats. Simultaneous with a listing on the JSE in May 2007, Eastplats completed a $200 million capital raising and announced plans to refurbish the existing Crocodile River Mine smelter.
Current Operations
Crocodile River
Highlights:
* Two producing sections; Zandfontein and Maroelabult
* 2008 projected production of 120,000 oz pa PGM
* New mining areas being developed at Zandfontien
* PGM recovery from tailings in place (2007)
* Chrome recovery plant in operation (2008)
* Commissioning of vertical shaft in 2008
The Crocodile River Mine is located on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex, near the town of Brits in South Africa's North West Province. Initially established in 1987, the operation was acquired by Rand Mines Limited. Implats then acquired an interest of 38% and the contract to manage the mine in 1991, but a dramatic decline in metal prices forced the mine's closure later that year.
In 1998 Implats increased its stake in Barplats to 83% and, following an intensive exploration programme, the mine was re-opened in February 2000. The concentrator was refurbished at the same time. The mine was operated successfully as an open pit mine, but a combination of the rising Rand exchange rate and the contractors' inability to mine the operation efficiently using highly mechanized mining methods underground resulted in the mine being placed on care and maintenance in December 2003. The mine was re-opened in 2004 and has since undergone extensive development and refurbishment of surface facilities. Mining is now largely non-mechanized to better control dilution.
The operation comprises four mining sections, Maroelabult in the east (operating), Zandfontein in the centre (operating), Crocette in the west (under development), and Kareespruit (under development) between Maroelabult and Zandfontein.
Primary access at the Maroelabult section consists of two declines, one for men and material and one equipped with a conveyor belt for rock transport from underground.
The Zandfontein section is equipped with a vertical shaft and primary access consisting of four separate decline roadways from surface. A new conveyor system is in place, extensive underground development is ongoing, and the vertical shaft has been refurbished.
A tailings retreatment plant was commissioned in 2007 and construction of a chrome recovery plant was completed in 2008.
The UG2 Reef is mined at Crocodile River. The UG2 is a distinct chromitite layer, approximately 140 centimetres thick at the mine. The reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves is in accordance with the principles and guidelines of the South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (The SAMREC Code) and Canadian NI 43-101. The Mineral Resources grade and tonnages incorporate estimated geological losses and the Ore Reserves are stated as delivered grade and tonnages.
During financial year 2007, significant work was undertaken to gain a better understanding of the geological structure across the Crocodile River Mine property, especially the Kareespruit section whereas an extensive infill drilling programme was conducted. The new geological data will support an update of the resource model which should be available in the first quarter of 2009.
Kennedy's Vale
Kennedy's Vale is a very large underground resource containing PGM's in both the UG2 and Merensky Reefs with a high platinum content.
The Kennedy's Vale project comprises PGM minerals rights on several farms in the Steelpoort Valley. Previous exploration on the property was undertaken by Rand Mines, Gencor and Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) during the period 1985 to 2003.
The existing infrastructure includes two vertical shafts that intersect the UG2 at a depth of approximately 900 m. A drilling programme, which is part of a pre-feasibility study, was completed in 2007.
Both the UG2 and the Merensky Reefs occur at Kennedy's Vale. The UG2 is a distinct chromitite layer, approximately 100 cm thick at Kennedy's Vale separated from the Merensky Reef by some 200 m vertically. The Merensky Reef is 2.5 m thick at Kennedy's Vale.
Although preliminary metallurgical test work by Impala reported metal recoveries as high as 93% in the UG2, it is expected that metal recoveries at Kennedy's Vale will be similar to those on other PGM properties and mines in production in the Spitzkop area, with approximately 85% recovery of the PGM in the concentrate. At this time it is expected that Eastplats would receive between 80 and 82.5% of the refined metal value as a result of refinery changes. The concentrate produced from Kennedy's Vale would be platinum and rhodium rich and may command a premium.
In 2006/7 Eastplats conducted Phase 1 (Pre-feasibility) Studies on Kennedy's Vale. Phase 2 studies will include trial mining of the UG2 Reef at Spitzkop and are expected to commence late 2007/early 2008. Qualified consultants with substantial PGM project experience gained on previous PGM projects in South Africa are being used. The work is being undertaken according to strict standards demanded by the SAMREC/SAMVAL codes, and will be JORC compliant. MSA Consultants are supervising all QA/QC requirements to meet these standards. These codes meet the regulatory guidelines for stock exchanges in Canada, the U.S.A., the U.K. and Australia.
Spitzkop
Highlights:
* UG2 resource containing over 45 M ozs PGM
* Merensky resource containing 35 M ozs PGM (3m thick)
* High grades > 6 g/t at Spitzkop (6E)
* Contiguous projects can be mined as one operation
* Trial mining at Spitzkop is underway
* Two shafts exist to access deeper sections at KV
* Potential to produce over 400,000 opa
* Surface rights owned at Kennedy’s Vale
* New Order Rights granted
* Water allocation in place for 220,000 opa
Spitzkop is a mineral property with high grade near surface PGM mineralization occurring in both the UG2 and Merensky reefs with platinum being the dominant ore mineral.
The Spitzkop Project is located on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in Mpumalanga Province. Angloplats, the world's largest producer of PGM, is currently planning a series of platinum mines in the UG2 reef in the immediate vicinity to Spitzkop, namely the Helena, De Brochen and Booysendal platinum mines. Aquarius Platinum Ltd. is developing the Everest South mine and Eastplats is conducting a feasibility study on the Mareesburg PGM project.
The New Order rights at Spitzkop are currently registered in the name of Spitzkop Platinum Pty Ltd. ("Spitzplats") and are in good standing. Eastplats entered into a 50:50 Joint Venture Agreement with Spitzplats(April 2005) and subsequently Eastplats acquired a 74% interest in Spitzplats. Spitzplats is an "empowered" company under the Empowerment Charter and fully compliant with South African B.E.E. requirements. The transactions are fully compliant with South African law and the New Mining Act.
The technical data used for the Mineral Resource estimates were generated by Anglo American, Samancor (B.H.P.), Impala and Eastplats. The data used are considered to be of a high quality and to be reliable.
In 2006/7 Eastplats conducted Phase 1 (Pre-feasibility) Studies on Spitzkop. Phase 2 studies will include trial mining of the UG2 Reef at Spitzkop and are expected to commence late 2007/early 2008. Qualified consultants with substantial PGM project experience gained on previous PGM projects in South Africa are being used. The work is being undertaken according to strict standards demanded by the SAMREC/SAMVAL codes, and will be JORC compliant. MSA Consultants are supervising all QA/QC requirements to meet these standards. These codes meet the regulatory guidelines for stock exchanges in Canada, the U.S.A., the U.K. and Australia.
Mareesburg Deposit
Highlights: * 1.7M oz PGM UG2 resource
* Eastplats has a 75.5% interest
* Average Grade of Measured Resource 4.9 g/t (3PGE +Au)
* Feasibility Results by early '09
* New Order Prospecting Rights granted
In February 2004 Eastplats acquired the rights to a 50% interest in the Mareesburg Platinum Project ("Mareesburg") from Samancor by way of a 50:50 Joint Venture with Lion's Head Platinum Pty ("LHP"). Two other agreements enabled Eastplats to purchase a 51% interest in LHP, thus increasing the Company's interest in Mareesburg to 75.5%.
LHP is a private South African Black Economic Empowerment company that is fully compliant with the South African Mining Charter.
The Mareesburg property lies in the southern part of the Eastern Bushveld approximately 50 km west of Lydenburg, adjacent to Angloplats' proposed new platinum mine on the farm Der Brochen,. The immediate area around Mareesburg is rapidly developing into a major mining district with platinum and chrome mining currently underway and a number of possible new platinum mines being investigated and developed by Angloplats, Mvelaphanda, Impala Platinum and Aquarius. The majority of these platinum mines are planning to mine the UG2 Reef. Access to the property is good and power lines traverse the area.
It is planned for Mareesburg to be initially mined as an open pit and a feasibility study on this is underway, due for completion in the first quarter of 2009. Qualified consultants with substantial PGM project experience gained on previous PGM projects in South Africa are conducting the feasibility study. Geological work in 2006/7, which included core logging and sampling. This work is being undertaken according to strict standards demanded by the SAMREC/SAMVAL codes, and will be JORC compliant. These codes meet the regulatory guidelines for stock exchanges in Canada, the U.S.A., the U.K. and Austral.
Geographical Spread
South Africa
Board of Directors and Key Management
| David Cohen | Chairman & Director |
| Ian Rozier | President/CEO & Director |
| Merfyn Roberts | Director |
| John Andrews | Director |
| John Hawkrigg | Director |
| Gordon Keep | Director |
| Robert J. Gayton | Director |
| Horng Dih Lee | CFO, VP Finance & Corporate Secretary |
Company Address408 - 837 W. Hastings Street
|
Additional Address/Key ContactSouth Africa Office |
CapitalDecember 16, 2008 Authorized Capital; Unlimited common shares Issued Capital; 680,526,421 Warrants; 58,485,996 Options; 46,390,000 Fully Diluted; 785,402,417 |
Annual General MeetingJune | Year EndDecember 31st |
Nominated BrokersCanaccord Capital Corporation (Europe) | Nominated AdvisorsCanaccord Capital Corporation (Europe) |
Broker/Analyst Reports
16/05/07 - Canccord Adams
Major Shareholders
| United Services |
| Endeavour Financial |
| Libra Fund |
Related News
19/12/08 - Eastplats Rolls With The Punches, But Is Still In There Fighting14/08/08 - Eastern Platinum Offers Many Attractions To A Chinese Bidder
17/01/08 - Eastern Platinum Grows Into A Take-Over Candidate
09/07/07 - The Ambitious Production Plans Of Eastern Platinum May Attract A Predator
Most Recent Statement
06/01/09 - Price Monitoring Extension12/12/08 - Eastplats Increases Equity In Barplats; New Bee Partners
10/12/08 - AIM Notification
13/11/08 - Eastern Platinum Reports Results For The Quarter Ended September 30, 2008
16/10/08 - Eastplats Reports ongoing Production Growth for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2008
14/08/08 - Eastern Platinum Reports Record Earnings for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2008