Impala Platinum has completed its 30-year profile of its mining operations in Rustenburg, according to a detailed report in Mining Weekly.

The platinum giant says that it has set near-term capital expenditure at around R9 billion, with two thirds of that set aside solely for a new huge shaft system.

The No 16 Shaft is scheduled for completion by 2011, and is expected to produce more than 500,000 tons per month.

This single shaft is set to produce more than 40 per cent of the current production of 15 million tons a year, as well as reaching a new record depth of 1,800 metres for the company.

'This will be a massive shaft complex, the biggest in the industry,' Paul Visser, senior general manager at Rustenburg operations Paul Visser, explained.

An additional R1.5 billion has now been set aside for further shaft developments, with No 20 anticipated to begin production in 2008.