R46bn platinum investment on Bushveld’s west limb (10/06/11)

Six major platinum exploration projects worth a combined R46 billion (£4.2 billion) are progressing in the western limb of the Bushveld Complex of South Africa.

Three of the six belong to Impala Platinum, with the remainder owned by Anglo Platinum (Amplats)

Impala's 16 Shaft should produce 226,500 t/m of reef from 2015, the 17 Shaft 225,000 t/m from 2018, and the 20 Shaft 185,000 t/m of reef from 2013.

Amplats' Thembelani 2 is likely to produce at a rate of 120,000 oz/y of refined platinum from 2015. Its other two operations are growth projects.

Styldrift is predicted to produce 220,000 oz of platinum a year from 2015, while Frischgewaadg-Ledig will aim to mine 350,000 oz/y of the precious metal from 2018.

Five of these six developments are being managed by TWP Projects, which is confident they will keep it busy for ten years.

Mojave Gold Corporation Announces Platinum Group Minerals Exploration (14/06/11)

Mojave Gold Corporation has announced an update on its ongoing exploration of platinum group metals in Guyana.

The firm, which has joined with GlobalMin to accelerate work in the country, said the granting of an exclusive licence from the government of Guyana will speed up its efforts even further.

Mojave Gold president Steve Heard said: "The GlobalMin Guyana project is now on a fast track."

The permit allows the company exclusive control of approximately 4.4 million acres for the purpose of exploring platinum group minerals.

Mr Heard added that there has been a great deal of interest in the project from both junior and senior mining firms.

Pacific North West up on platinum group metal drill results from River Valley (22/06/11)

Pacific North West Capital Corp has announced the results of two drill holes at its River Valley platinum group metals project near Sudbury, Ontario.

Assay results from one drill hole returned 1.65 g/t of platinum group metals, including platinum, palladium and gold (3E). At another drill hole, assays found 3.28 g/t 3E over eight metres.

The firm said the discoveries confirmed the presence of higher-grade platinum group metals on the property. Measured resources at River Valley so far amount to 7.99 million tonnes, while there are indicated resources of 11.3 million tonnes.

North American Palladium Provides Palladium Exploration Update: Offset Zone Continues to Expand (28/06/11)

Exploration drilling at North American Palladium's Lac des Iles (LDI) mine in Northern Ontario has identified positive findings.

Surface drilling on the Offset Zone intersected "significant mineralisation" over 150 metres south of the shaft location, the firm said.

Meanwhile, a drill following the south extension of that zone encountered excellent grades and width, with 12 metres of 16.4 g/t of palladium.

"After completing nearly 35,000 metres of drilling to date in 2011, the exploration results at LDI continue to highlight the significant potential to grow our reserve and resource base through exploration," said William J Biggar, president and chief executive officer.

Drill results on the recently-discovered Sheriff Zone indicate more scope for exploration at LDI, he added. 

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